


Burn the Land & Boil the Sea (You Can't Take the Sky From Me)

by ReaperWriter



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Alliance, Browncoats, F/M, Firefly AU, Misthaven, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-18 06:42:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3559964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaperWriter/pseuds/ReaperWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bounty Hunter Emma Swan is forced into a job babysitting Smuggler Captain Killian "Hook" Jones.  But when a surprise comes out of left field, they'll find strength in each other as they confront the corruption of the Alliance and a secret that pre-dates Miranda.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The characters are all Adam and Eddy and the OUAT Writing Team, while Badger and the world belong to Joss. I can't thank any of them enough.
> 
> Feedback is welcome. You can catch me here, or on tumblr at adventureofhistorygirl
> 
> And away we go....

**Prologue: The Misthaven Uprising and Fall Out**

In the beginning, when terraforming took off, planets were left to structure their governments as they wished. From its beginnings, the planet of Misthaven, on the edge of the core, was described as a fairytale world of lush forests and lovely seas. An enchanted planet that had settled into a benevolent monarchy early on, the House of White had ruled it with grace and kindness for well over a century when King Leopold came to the throne, and surveys of its citizens’ satisfaction placed it higher than almost any other realm in the verse.

King Leopold and his wife, Queen Eva, had yielded a daughter called Snow as an heir, and the girl was loved by all. Her young life was only marred by the death of her mother in an attack on her ship as she had traveled to the core on a diplomatic mission. Not long after, her father had married again to give her a new mother. The woman, Regina, had seemed kind at first, but in time, she seemed to grow to hate young Snow. When Leopold died suddenly, Snow was forced to flee the palace, and go into hiding.

Regina assumed power, and she began to make overtures to the new Alliance of Core Planets, wanting to extend her power out from its base on Misthaven, and in return use the power of the Alliance to track down and destroy Snow White.

During her time in hiding, Snow crossed paths with a young man. A shepherd at birth, he had been suddenly and violently torn from his life to replace the dead brother he had never known as the heir to Duke George of the House of Spencer, a rival claimant to Misthaven’s throne. David, now called James, and Snow had a rocky start, since she was robbing him of a ring he intended to give to an arranged fiancé. In the end, his love for Snow proved a greater force than the will of his adopted father, and David, whom she called Charming, rebelled, joining himself to Snow in marriage.

Together, the heirs to the Houses of White and Spencer raised an army to challenge the rule of Regina, and succeeded in defeating her for a time, with Regina escaping in a small shuttle. The people cheered their new Queen and her consort, for they had no love of the idea of Alliance rule, preferring to remain free and independent under the leaders they had loved for so long. It looked as if they would live happily ever after with the announcement that Queen Snow was expecting their first child. But looks can be deceiving.

Only through the last minute warning of a friendly source in the Alliance were they warned of impending attack. Snow and Charming were forced to surrender their baby to an old friend, Snow’s nurse Johanna. A girl, named Emma, the child and her keeper were spirited away on a small ship out of orbit just as Regina, with the help of the Alliance, deployed a new weapon system. The planet of Misthaven, with its forests and lakes, seas and bright cities, was locked into stasis until such time as someone came to break its curse. The Alliance removed the name from its maps and put out the story that terraforming had suddenly failed. And the beautiful planet , the jewel of the galaxy, faded from the memories of time.

*****

10 years passed between the Misthaven Uprising and the Unification War. Years before, on the Planet of Southsea, there was born a man called Liam Jones. A few years later, he became an older brother to a second son, called Killian. The two boys were inseparable, growing up in the planet’s capital space port. Liam was bold and daring, and always up for an adventure, while Killian immersed himself in books on engineering and navigation and travel. Both of them embraced the idea of good form, instilled in them by their father before he was killed on a mission for the Alliance fleet, and maintained by their mother until her own death.

They entered into a feeder school for the Alliance space academy and excelled, earning entrance easily and gaining top marks. From their first day as midshipmen aboard an Alliance dreadnaught class, their rise was meteoric. Anyone who was anyone within the Alliance command structure knew of the famous Jones brothers, and soon they were legends, the youngest men to make Captain and Lieutenant in the service, respectively. Life was a wonder and they couldn’t be happier, even with the war on. After all, the Alliance was civilization and righteousness, and who wouldn’t want to be a part of it?

Then, together with their ship, a speed frigate called _The Jewel of the Universe_ , they were sent on a mission to a planet called Miranda to investigate the disappearance of a science team. Liam had left Killian in charge of the ship while he took a small landing party down in a shuttle. Killian was in constant video contact with them, and he watched in horrified fascination as they found the wreck of the science ship and the remains of the crew. It looked like a wild animal attack. In shocked silence, they had all watched as the video left by the last scientist alive played out, telling the truth of what had happened.

Then the first of the Reavers had been upon them. Liam and his people fought valiantly, but they were quickly overwhelmed. There was nothing he could do but watch as they were ripped apart, and listen to the screams. Liam’s final words, an exhortation that he get back and speak the truth, to bring down the corrupt government that would do such a barbaric thing to their people.

His heart shattered at the loss, he rallied his crew and left the small planet. On the way back into the system, they were briefly surprised by an attack from an Alliance ship, and Killian was enraged to discover the targeted EMP blast had taken out their communications equipment, destroying his evidence. With nothing left to use to convince people of his story, Killian and his men ran, finding a rebel stronghold and joining the Browncoats.

He fought on for four years until he was taken as part of the last group of survivors when Serenity Valley fell. After, he languished in an Alliance prison, keeping to himself. They had fought, after all, and they had lost. And since he was a former Alliance turncoat, his welcome had never been all that warm to begin with. There had been a certain cache to being a Browncoat from the beginning. At the same time, the guards were extra hard on him, since he had been spared a traitor’s death. His Alliance assigned advocate had argued that he had become unhinged by the death of his brother in honorable combat. They had only taken his hand instead.

When he was released under the ever so gracious amnesty for prisoners of war, he found work in the spaceport on the nasty little rock the prison had been on until he had saved enough, combined with Liam’s death benefit and his mother’s estate, to buy an old, beat up Firefly class vehicle. He named her _The Jolly Roger_ , after the mythical pirate ship in _Peter Pan_ , figuring he was well and truly a one handed pirate now. On that day, Killian Jones made himself a promise. He would never serve a master other than himself again.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Emma Swan hated Persephone.  The planet smelled of pollution and sewage and waste, and the miasma of it leeched into her hair and her pores until a month of clean showers couldn’t seem to get it out.  She hated the mangled mess of the Eavesdown docks, with humanity stacked up on itself in view of luxury sky rises.   She hated the transientness of how nothing and no one ever stayed.  And that was just a little hypocritical, since she herself hadn’t.

Emma had been born, in all probability, on this stinking piece of space rock.  At least, that had been the assumption of the authorities.  She had been found, wrapped in a blanket with her name embroidered on it, near the body of an old woman who had been mugged and knifed in an alleyway.  She never knew her name, the old woman.  The records had been misreported and lost.  All the people at the orphanage had been able to tell her was that she was far too old to have been Emma’s mother.  The working theory was that she was a servant, or maybe a midwife, taking the babe to either be surrendered at a safe place, or perhaps left exposed.  Either was entirely possible.

She had grown up on Persephone, in a series of nasty foster homes and group orphanages.  Briefly adopted, the couple had sent her back when they had unexpectedly become pregnant, and after that, no placement had ever stuck.  Instead, she had remained until she had run away, talking her way onto the first commercial ship she could, taking a job scrubbing toilets to get the hell off of that world. 

But a bounty was a bounty, and the East Alliance Trading Company would pay her a hell of a lot of credits to bring in Ryan LeGrange, who had embezzled a fairly ridiculous amount of money before getting caught and fleeing Osiris for this den of iniquity.  She had come into bounty hunting almost by accident, but she was good at it.  It kept her fed and clothed and in credits, and maybe one day it would let her settle down on some decently nice world that didn’t smell like a cesspool.

Straightening her dress and fluffing her hair, she put on her best smile and walked in to the restaurant on the nice edge of the docks.  Her quarry was sitting in the corner, and his face lit up in a lecherous grin as she walked toward him.

“Emma?” She ignored the urge to shudder as his voice grated on her nerves.  “When Madame Doffery said she was sending one of her prettiest girls, I had no idea you’d be this beautiful.”

She leaned forward, voice tight.  “Given that neither she, nor I, have Guild protection, perhaps we could keep my association to ourselves, hmm?”

“Of course, of course.”  He pushed out her chair with his foot and she sat, gingerly, hoping his show hadn’t tracked anything on the seat.  “So, Emma, tell me about yourself.”

“Well,” she said, thinking.  Truth was always more believable than a lie.  “It’s my birthday.”

“And you’re spending it working?  No family or friends to party with?”  He was leering at her now, and she was so ready to get this over and done with.

“None to speak of.  But then, we can be friends, right?”  She leaned over, tracing one hand over his wrist.  He was so focused on her cleavage, he didn’t see her other arm moving, dropping something into his drink.

“Hell, you’re the sexiest friendless orphan I’ve ever met.  We can definitely be friends.”  He took a nice, big drink of his beer. 

“That’s good.  It will make it easier to get you over to the East Alliance office and collect the bounty on you.”  She was smiling and watched his face drop.  “After all, it’s stupid to rip off your employer, Mr. LeGrange, but it’s stupider when it’s your wife’s uncle.  He is all kinds of pissed at you.”

“Who the hell are you?” LeGrange asked, trying to stand.

“I’m the bounty hunter who’s bringing you in.”  She smiled at him as he slid back into the chair.  “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“You bitch.”  LaGrange’s words were slurred as he pitched forward, passing out of the table and spilling the rest of his beer on her.  Emma swore and grabbed a napkin, mopping it up as best she could.  Then she put on her brightest smile and waved over the maîtres’d. 

“My friend here had a little too much to drink.  Can you help me get him in a cab so I can get him home?”  The man nodded and helped her man handle LaGrange outside and into a rickshaw.  Twenty minutes later, Emma walked out of the East Alliance offices with a 10K credit transfer and another 5k in cash.  Overall, not a bad haul.

As she turned to head back to her hotel, she heard the click of a gun behind her.  “Emma Swan.”

She turned, coming face to face with a non-too bright looking man with a gun pointed at her heart.  “That would be me.”

“Badger wants to see you.”  Emma watched his lips move and wondered if the stench was his breath or something else.

“How lovely for Badger, but I don’t think…”

“Not a request, Missy.”  The man gestured with the gun toward a waiting sky car.  Emma sighed.

“Right.  Well, lead on, McDuff.”  She loved to climb into the back seat.

“Huh?”  Emma rolled her eyes.

“Just drive.”  And she was off.

*******

Killian Jones had a love hate relationship with Persephone.  The boy he had been, growing up on a floating spaceport on Southsea, where the air smelled clean and salty, hated the stench and the smell and the press of people.  However, the pirate he was now could appreciate the anonymity.  The way an underworld could seethe just below an otherwise cultured surface.  There was camouflage to be had in this world.  If he changed his clothes and effected the accent he had cultivated when he was in the service of the fleet, he could easily make entrance into the grandest of residences and blend in at the hoitiest of toity parties. 

If he dropped that accent from the one he had now, laced with innuendo and smarm, and shrugged back into the heavy leather duster so deeply brown it was nearly black, he could waltz among the cutpurses and thieves and ne’er-do-wells on the seedy side of life.  Persephone fit his needs from time to time.  He just wished he didn’t feel degraded by the time those needs were met.

They had done a job at the behest of the man who ran the underworld here, and Killian felt anything but confident about it.  The derelict had been right where Badger said it would be, but they had come extremely close to being nicked by an Alliance Destroyer who had shown up just as they were finishing.  If it hadn’t been for Ruby’s crybaby, they’d have been screwed.  Then when they had gotten the haul on board the _Jolly_ , the bars had been marked as Alliance.  Badger hadn’t said anything about a marked cargo.   
  
Killian sighed.  He had spent two years living as his own master, Captain of his crew, and there were days when it still felt as if he had barely crawled from the hole the war had left him in.  Today was looking to be another one of those days.  But funds were getting low, and he had to keep not just himself together, but his crew.  His pilot, Victor and the man’s wife, Ruby, who was a mechanical genius.  And then there was his second in command, Mulan, who had fought with him at Serenity Valley.  Finally, there was their enforcer, Anton, who was a bear of a man, but highly capable if he kept his temper.  He had people counting on him, and that meant the credits for food and fuel to keep flying.

Making his way to The Den, a pub Badger used as a front, he pushed into the dim space.  Men stopped what they were doing to stare at him as he made his way back to where one of his enforcers stood, guarding the door.

“E’s been expecting you, Hook.”  The man pushed a small button to signal his boss, and then let him pass.

Killian maneuvered down to hall until it opened up in Badger’s personal little pleasure palace.  The man sat at an antique desk made of dark teak wood.  Two more enforcers bracketed the room, while a red headed doxy sat squirming in his lap, sucking kisses against his neck.  This cargo was truly not worth near enough to have that image seared into his brain.

“Well, well, well, if it idn’t Cap’n Hook hisself.”  Badger shoved the girl out his lap.  “Go see to the pay customers, Nim.”  The girl scuttled off quickly, leaving them. 

“Badger.”  Killian sat in the chair across the desk, noting again how the legs had been trimmed so the crime lord would ever be taller than any guest.  “I’ve got your cargo.”

“Fancy a drink, mate?”  Badger pulled a bottle of something that looked radioactive out of his desk drawer, followed by a pair of empty tumblers.  “Finest Absinthe this side of the core.”

Killian reached into his pocket and pulled out a battered flask.  “I’ll stick to rum, thanks.  Unlike your wood alcohols, it’s a hell of a lot less likely to strike me blind.”

“Suit yourself.”  Badger poured a large draft of the liquor and sipped it.

“So, your cargo.”  Killian just wanted this done.  “We have it.  Let’s talk about the exchange.”

Just then, a noise from down the hallway made him turn.  Another of the goon squad was leading a young woman by the arm into the room.  When she stepped into the light, Killian felt as if someone had poleaxed him.

“Badger.  Lovely way to ask for a meeting.”  The woman practically growled the word, yanking her arm from the man next to her.  “Next time, you could just send a transmission.”

“The lovely Emma Swan.”  Badger stood and pointed to the alcohol, but the woman shook her head.  “That would be my preferred method, ducks, but you see, you’ve ignored the last few I’ve sent you.”

“And yet, you don’t take the hint.”  She had fire, this one, her blonde curls almost glowing and her green eyes narrowed at their host.

“Sit, Swan.  I have a proposition.”  Badger was ignoring Killian now, which rankled. 

“No.”  Emma stood her ground for a moment before all three goons pulled their weapons and pointed them at her.  She sighed a weary, put upon sigh.  “Fine.” She ground out, like she was spitting glass.  She dropped into the chair next to him and seemed to notice him for the first time. “Who the hell is this?”

“Killian Jones.”  He smiled at her, and watched her role her eyes.  “You may know me by my other, more colorful moniker.”  At that, he held up his brace.

“Hook?  Are you freaking kidding me, Badger?”  Emma’s eyes turned back to the other man.  “Look, you know my rules.  No Alliance bounties.  You want the money for him, you drop a dime on his yourself.”

“Now, now, Swan.”  Badger sat, taking another drink of his nasty alcohol.  “See, the good captain and I have a problem.  He did a job for me that went a little…sideways.”

“No idea what you’re…” Killian started.

“Save it, mate.”  Badger cut him off.  “I know the Alliance was hotter than expected and you almost got nabbed.”

“I did the job, Badger.  I get paid.”  Killian’s voice turned dark and deadly, and he felt the woman next to him regard him again.

“Yes, Captain, that is the idea.”  He turned back to the blonde.  “My plans to move the cargo on world won’t work, so I’ve made arrangements for the cargo to go off world.  But, well, there is no honor among thieves, as it were.”

Killian rankled at that.  He might be a thief and a pirate, but he was, above all else, a man of honor.  Liam would be even more disappointed in him if he wasn’t.

“What does that have to do with me?”  Emma looked border now, tapping her foot on the floor.

“I want to be sure that old Captain Hook here doesn’t take it into his head to abscond with my money.”  Badger flashed him a grin.  “No offense, mate.”

“Much taken, mate.”

“I propose you go as my representative, Swan.  You travel with the Captain and his cargo, off load it with my buyer off world, and then make sure my part of the money comes back to me.”  He smiled.  “Easy peasey.  And a 10% cut for you.”

“15%.”  Emma still looked board, but he could see the glint of interest in her eye.  “And expenses.”

“12%, and expenses.”  Badger leaned forward.

“What’s to stop me from taking your whole cut and…absconding with it?”  Emma grinned at the man.

“Because, Swan, I’ve come across a piece of information you would very much like to have.”  He held up a ragged old folder.  “Seems to have been lost from the Human Service office records.”

Emma had blanched pale next to him.  “You son of a bitch.”

“Do the job, keep Hook here honest, and you can call it a bonus.  On top of 12% and expenses.”  Badger had a gleam in his eye.  “Do we have a deal?”

“Fine.”  She turned and looked at Killian.  “I’ll go grab my things.  Where are you docked?”

Killian told her and he watched as she grabbed a pencil and scrap paper from the desk, writing it down.  “I’ll be there in two hours.  Leave without me, and I’ll find you and break my own rule.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love.”  Killian offered his hand, which she studiously ignored.

“Not your love.”  With that, she turned and stormed down the hallway.

“I’ll send you the coordinates once you clear atmo.”  Badger reached into his desk and threw a bag of cash based credits at him.  “That should keep you in food and fuel in the meantime.”

“This better work, Badger.”  His own voice was hard and deadly. 

“Pleasure, Captain.”  The man sat back down, waving his hand at him.  “Ta.”

Killian turned on his heel and left.  He had to get them ready to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos. I'll try to update this as regularly as I can.

Emma Swan traveled light.  An oversized duffle with her clothing and toiletries and limited personal effects, and a small leather satchel with a few old fashioned books, a personal tablet computer, and a dingy white baby blanket with her name on it.  It wasn’t much, but it was hers.

Arriving back at her small room in the boarding house, she had packed quickly.  She changed into a pair of tight legged denim dungarees in deep blue and a soft grey long sleeve shirt.  A pair of sturdy brown boots over her feet felt much more stable than the heels she had worn earlier, and allowed her to slide a knife into a hidden sheath at her calf.  Emma slipped a small pistol into a shoulder holster, then covered it with her red leather jacket.  That done, she felt ready to face the world.

The dress she had been wearing now had a well and truly set in stain, so she discarded it in the trash, and figured she could pick up a new one with part of her cut from this job.  While she didn’t like being forced into a gig, it would hopefully pay well.  And she had to admit, she found the idea of working with the infamous Captain Hook intriguing. 

One of Emma’s strict rules in her line of work was no direct Alliance bounties. After all, all the go tsao de Alliance had done was stick her in one awful home after another. And she managed.  There were enough corporations and associated world-side governments that would pay her, she hadn’t needed to stoop to their jobs.  But it didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of the possibilities.

And Captain Hook was reportedly a thorn in the Alliance’s side.  Never doing enough to make them bring out the big guns, rumor had it he took jobs based on his ability to fuck up some Alliance official’s day.  The bounty on him would be enticing, if she hadn’t found his antics amusing.  What she had not realized was how ridiculously young and good looking the man was.  She had never really looked at photos, mainly skimming the activity descriptions the way some people might the funny pages of the digital papers, she had expected someone older and grizzled, maybe rotund.

Instead, the man she had met was young, maybe a few years older than her, and built like a sailor from one of those ancient swashbuckling adventure films that all the core museums were losing their nuts over.  And those eyes. Well, she had never been the sort of girl to lose her composure over something like that (at least not in a long, long time), but the color of the man’s eyes was startling.

Sighing, she shook herself.  She figured she’d have plenty of time to stare at him by the time they were done with this job.  For now, she needed to get to his damn ship.  Walking downstairs, she settled her tab and went outside to flag a cab.  At least she was getting off of Persephone sooner than she thought.

She was early arriving at his ship.  To her surprise, it was an old, grey Firefly class vessel that had clearly seen better days.  She stopped in surprise, looking at it.  It certainly didn’t look like the craftiest pirate ship in the verse.

“She looks a little rough, but she’s a canny girl, the _Jolly_.”  Emma was startled by a voice and turned to find a woman her own age sitting on a folding chaise lounge, wearing a tied off work shirt above her mid-drift, and a pair of shorts leaving almost nothing to the imagination.  Long, dark brown hair, tipped in red like she had leaned over a paint can accidentally, hung in two braids around her face.  “Are you looking for passage?  We take passengers.”

That was surprising.  It seemed a dangerous call to make when you had a bounty riding on you.  “I’m Emma Swan.  Captain…” She paused, suddenly blanking on the man’s real name.  “The Captain is expecting me.”

The girl smiled brightly.  “Oh course!  He told us you’d be along.  Hang on a sec.”  Grabbing a walkie-talkie from the chair side, she pushed the button.  “Anton, Captain’s guest is here.  Come help with her bags.”  She set the device back down.  “I’m Ruby Lucas.  I’m the ship’s mechanic.”

“Must be quite a job.”  Emma kept glancing at the chipping paint and wondering how well serviced the old bird was.  Ruby seemed to take mild offense.

“She’s in damn near better shape than any ship in the port, never mind her paintjob.  The _Jolly_ and I are a team, and I’d never let her down.”  Ruby gave her a look, daring her to say otherwise.

“I’ll trust your judgment.”  Just then, a giant of a man lumbered down the hatch toward them.  “Holy hell.”

“That’s Anton.  He’s all right.”  Ruby smiled at the big man as he walked down toward them.  “Anton, this is Emma.  Captain said to put her in shuttle one.”

Anton held out a hand for her bag.  “Nice to meet you.”  Emma handed over the duffle, but kept a tight grip on her satchel.  “Follow me.”

“See you at supper, Emma!”  With that, she found herself following the other man up the hatch and into the cargo bay, then up the decking stairs.  Nothing was creaking or groaning thus far, so she assumed she was safe.  As they followed their way around the catwalk, they passed a shuttle, but Anton kept going.

“Why is your Captain giving me a shuttle instead of a passenger dorm space?”  It seemed kind of unnecessary. 

“Captain Jones mumbled something about professional courtesy.  Shuttle is more contained, roomier.”  Anton led her around to the other side, and pressed a button.  The doors slid open, revealing a Spartan space.  A sitting area with a small couch and two chairs separated off from a double bed with grey blankets and white sheets.  “Bathrooms through there.  There are drawers under the bed for storage.”  He dropped her duffle on the bed.  “Ruby’ll be where you left her ‘til we take off.  Mulan and I are in the armory.  If you need something, come find us.”

And then he was leaving.  “Anton?”  The big man stopped.  “Who’s in the other shuttle?”

“No one anymore.”  And he was gone.

Emma turned, looking around.  Home, sweet home.  Or whatever.  Opening the duffle, she began unpacking.

******

Killian came back to the ship to find Ruby waiting for him.  “You didn’t say she was pretty.”

“Does it matter, Ruby?”  He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice.  For the most part, Ruby was sunshine and glitter, but rile her, and she would snap at your like a wolf.

“Not especially, but it will be fun to have another girl on board for a while.”  Ruby took his arm, pulling him up the ramp into the cargo area.

“Lass, you are aware that Mulan is, in fact, a girl.”  Killian shook his head at the mechanic.  “I promise.  I’ve seen her naked.”

“Only because you were field dressing a wound.”  Ruby sighed heavily.  “And you know what I mean.  I love Mulan, but she doesn’t enjoy dresses and make-up the way I bet Emma does.”

“That is potentially true.”  He sighed. Then Ruby stopped, which he knew was never, ever a good sign.

“Oh, we have passengers.”  And there it was. 

“Damnation, Ruby, we aren’t on a set course yet.”  He rubbed a hand against his eyes.  “What if we end up going in the opposite direction of where they want to go?”

“It’s fine.  All of them are tourists, happy for the scenic route.  And willing to pay.”  Ruby smiled at him brightly.  “Please, Killy.”

“Don’t call me that.”  Damn it to hell.  He never could say no to the girl.  “Fine.”

Ruby kissed his cheek and took off for the engine room.  Above him, he heard a chuckle.  Victor Whale, his pilot, looked down at him.  “I’m married to her, what’s your excuse?”

“She keeps my gorram ship in the air.”  Killian rubbed his eyes.  “How soon can we get in said air?”

“We’re waiting for clearance, so 20 minutes or so?”  Victor nodded toward the bridge.  “I’ll let you know.”

Killian sighed.  So now he had a ship full of civilians, a stolen cargo, a bounty hunter he had invited (been forced to invite) on board, and another gamble to see any profit on this job.  There were days when he wondered if he wouldn’t be better served getting out of the game, finding some back of the way world and…raising cattle, or something.

Climbing the stairs, he made his way to the galley, and was surprised to find said bounty hunter standing before the stove, watching a kettle.  She hadn’t heard him, and he took a minute to watch her.  The fire she had held tightly to in Badger’s office was gone, and she looked…weary.  Like the weight of a whole world was on her shoulders.  Something flickered in his chest as he looked at her, a spark of something he didn’t want to define.  He couldn’t go through that again.

“Watched kettle never boils, Swan.”  She startled at his voice and he could see her walls going back up.  “Did the crew get you settled all right?”

“Yes, thank you.  The shuttle is…nice.” She stood there defensively, looking at him like he might bite her. 

“The shuttle is utilitarian, love, but I figure this was no more your idea then mine, so you might as well be comfortable.”  He gave her his best rakish grin.

“Not your love.”  The words were hard-bitten.  Then she flushed slightly.  “Sorry, that was…Sorry.”

“Quite all right, Swan.  It’s just a figure of speech where I’m from, I assure you.”  He nodded down toward the kettle, which was starting to steam in earnest.  “Any chance there’s water for two in there?”

“Should be.”  She watched him as he moved past her to the storage, digging around until he came up with a battered old tin.  “Where are you from?”

At that, he felt his own walls go up.  It was in his Alliance record, and any half-way competent hacker (and he suspected she was more than half-way competent) could find it in a trice, but he didn’t talk of home much.  Home was his mother and Liam and a very long time ago.  Still, if they were going to work at anything other than loggerheads, he supposed building a rapport was in order.

“I’m from a small planet called Southsea, midway between the Core and the Rim.”  He reached past her, watching her stiffen a little, and grabbed the tea ball out of the strainer.  She seemed to be trying not to stare as measured the loose leaf mixture carefully and settled it into the mesh, closing and locking the ball before dropping it in a mug.

“I’ve heard of it, I think.  Never been there.”  She shifted her eyes to the small box in front of her, and he was surprised when the smell of cocoa and cinnamon erupted from it as she opened it.  She paid careful attention, not spilling any of the brown powder as she prepared her own cup.  “What’s it like?”

The iron kettle whistled, so he paused, grabbing it with a hot pad, pouring for her first, then himself.  The rhythmic motion of her spoon stirring her drink was almost hypnotic and he had to pull his eyes away from it.

“It’s an ocean world, mostly water with very small continents.  Lots of fishing based industry, I suppose.  I grew up in a spaceport there called Maritime.”  He found himself wistful for salt air and the sound of gulls.  “It was a long time ago.  What about you, lass?”

Emma picked up her mug and walked over to the battered wooden table, sitting.  “I was raised on Persephone.  But it’s not home.”

He was tempted to inquire further, but the intercom crackled to life overhead.  “Captain, we’re ready to launch.”  Victor’s voice shook him out of the strange, almost trancelike state he had entered talking to her.  It had been…well, a while since he’d let himself get drawn in like that.  And for the sake of his mind and his heart, it was better if he didn’t.

“Well, make yourself at ease here, Swan.”  He gave his tea a quick stir, pulling the tea ball out and dumping the dregs.  “If you need something, just ask the crew.  We’ve got some passengers, so we’ll see you at supper.”

With that, he moved through toward the bridge, telling himself that he hadn’t actually fled.

*******

Emma watched Killian (why could she recall his name now, and not earlier?) go and sat in the empty galley, oddly disquieted.  Other than a mark, that was the most she had talked to another person in…immediate memory.  Emma really didn’t do people.  She had learned a long time ago that the only person she could really count on was herself. 

She closed her eyes, taking a long sip of her cocoa.  It was the only real indulgence she had, the bitter sweet flavor of cocoa and cinnamon, cut with sugar and some powdered milk, reminds her of the one good placement she ever had, with a woman named Sarah who was kind and loving, and almost her mom…until she had a psychotic break and almost shoved Emma off of a building.  Sarah had been the last straw, and she was in a group home until she ran away at 17. 

She didn’t want to get comfortable on this ship.  She wasn’t looking for friends or family or any of it.  She wanted to do the job, get paid, and move along.  Get back to her life on her terms.  But another part of her can’t quite forget Ruby’s warm greeting when she arrived, or Killian’s attempt to put her at ease. 

Finishing the drink, she washed and dried her cup, then took her small box of mix and headed back to her shuttle.  She’d been meaning to read the paperback she had picked up back on Beaumonde a month ago, traded for an old murder mystery from Earth the Was.  Now was as good a time as any to start.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the feedback! It's always appreciated. This chapter ended up a little longer, but I suspect you all won't mind. :D

Dinner that night was an awkward affair.  Ruby had been on chow duty, and so they had a stir-fry with rehydrated meat and canned vegetables, served over rice.  What that girl could do with basic rations was a marvel.  He supposed he could thank her grandmother, who had run a diner on the small border moon they had found her on.

What made things awkward was the very mixed company at the table.  Sitting at the head, he found himself next to a Doctor Hopper, who was taking a pleasure trip around the outer planets for his birthday, he said.  As an adventure.  On his other side was Emma, sandwiched between him and Ruby, and awkwardly silent as the mechanic chattered on to her about the latest fashions from the core.  His attention was drawn to her more than once as she forced a polite smile and pushed her food around with her chopsticks.

Mulan sat just the other side of Doctor Hopper, and his second in command kept giving him looks over the man’s head.  She had never been in favor of having passengers, if they could help it, and having them along on this deal was likely to only make her more…well, not nervous.  Tense, perhaps.  Victor sat to Ruby’s left, fond smile on his face and one arm around her shoulders. 

He still remembered the day the girl had come aboard, lured by their now former mechanic for a tryst when he should have been fixing the damn grav generator.  After she fixed a problem Felix hadn’t managed to diagnose correctly in months, he’d offered her the job.  As she was leaving to talk to her Granny, she’d run by Victor coming out of the bridge, and the man looked like he’d been smacked with a lead pipe.  He never thought he’d see the day a woman tamed his lothario of a pilot.  He had then worked to woo her, step by slow step, until Killian had to make a special trip back to her home so Granny could see her wed and give her away.

Their other two guests sat on either side of Victor and Mulan.  The woman had introduced herself as Zelena, and said she was touring border worlds looking for somewhere to set up her new business concern.  Something about the statuesque red head made him distinctly unsettled and he caught Mulan looking at her more than once with an air of suspicion since they had all sat down.  The other man, Sidney Glass, was a reporter doing a story on budget rim world travel.  At the very end, Anton sat glowering at the newcomers.  If anyone distrusted civilian passengers more than Killian and Mulan, it was Anton.  The man’s whole family had been killed by strangers once while he was away, father and three brothers gunned down for their meager possession.

“This is really delicious, Miss Lucas.”  Doctor Hopper smiled kindly, looking innocuous.  “You’re a very talented cook.”

“Thanks, Doc!”  Ruby grinned wholeheartedly back at him.  “I’m glad you like it.”

Killian finished the last of his, then set his chopsticks aside.  “So, as most of you know, we are primarily a cargo hauler.  Happy for your custom, and I understand that Ruby explained to you how we work, so you are under no illusions.”  He paused, catching Emma’s curious stare out of the corner of his eye.  “I’ve had a request to do a quick from of supplies out to a moon called Queen Anne.  It should be a fairly quick stop, and then we’ll continue on to Santo from there.”  No one looked immediately displeased with this notion.  In the meantime, you are welcome in the passenger dorm and the galley and recreation areas.  We do ask you stay out of the bridge and the engine room.  If you need something from your larger luggage in the hold, just let the crew know.”

“Any reason for concern about this stop on Queen Anne, Captain?”  Glass’s voice was slightly grating and officious.  “Rumor has it, it’s a rough locality.”

“None.”  Killian was using his wide charming smile, the one that used to make Core girls swoon at the functions he and Liam would attend.  “Simple supply drop is all.  We all have to do our part to make the system function.”  He stood and took his bowl with him.  “If you’ll all excuse me, I have some paperwork to do.  Accounts to reconcile.  Have a pleasant evening and I’ll see you in the morning.”

He washed and dried his dish good-naturedly, and headed out of the galley.  He was unsurprised to hear footsteps behind him and turned to find Mulan on his heels.  “Are you out of your mind?”

“Mulan, it will be fine.”  He leaned against the wall near the door to his cabin, reaching up to run his hand through his hair.  “Badger set it up, and no matter how much the man hates me, he’s getting a good deal on quality product.”

“Teach tried to shoot you last time.”  Mulan’s voice rang hard and unforgiving in the hall.  “A lot.  He tried to shoot you a lot.”

“Could we ixnay on the ootshay, mate.  We don’t want to spook our guests.”  He kept his own voice pitched low, and Mulan briefly looked contrite.

“I’m just saying, I don’t like it.”  The warrior looked at him intently.  “But it’s your head.”

“Your concern is noted.”  Killian sighed.  “I don’t like it either, but the only other option is to burn bridges with Badger, and like it or not, that worm is a useful source of work on occasion.”

Mulan simply raised an eyebrow at him, as if to ask, when?  Then she nodded.  “I’m going to go down armory and clean the long guns.  Let me know when we have a plan.”  She turned and left, walking down the hall.  When she disappeared from sight, he sighed.

“Want to come out and face me, love?”  Sheepishly, Emma stepped out of the small alcove she had slipped into while Mulan had her back to the door.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I kind of need to know what I’m getting into.”  She wasn’t defensive, just honest, and that was something he could appreciate.

“Well, Swan, come on in.”  He pushed a button and the door to his quarters opened.  It was a challenge, in a way.  “Let’s talk.”

******

She hadn’t been expecting that.  Emma figured that the Captain would lead her to the bridge, or possibly another common room.  Not his personal bunk.

“I don’t bite, Swan.  Unless you ask nicely.”  He gave her a leer that had her rolling her eyes.  It appeared to be put up or shut up time. 

Emma stepped forward, grabbing the ladder and climbing down into the cabin.  The space was roomier than she had expected.  A small, in room head was tucked under the ladder, across from a small closet.  In the middle of the room, bolted to the floor, was an old-fashioned wooden table, with three chairs, studded in leather on the seats and backs that seemed to be attached by leads to it.  The fourth side ran along a bench upholstered in rich brocades.  Along the opposite wall, a bed that could sleep two in a pinch was built into the wall above drawers and cupboards.

She would have expected utilitarian bedclothes, not unlike what was on her bed in the shuttle.  Instead, rich brick red sheets peeped out from under crimson and brown blankets, works in patterns and palettes that reminded her of the bazaars on some worlds she had been to.  A pile of pillows sat at the head.  Along the back wall between, cubbies filled with books, hard backed and leather covered lined the wall.  Emma stepped forward, noticing one cubby also held frames.

Holographic images looked out at her in varying conditions.  The older picture was a couple on their wedding day, the clothing put it years ago.  The man was handsome, with dark hair a little lighter than Hook’s and equally dark eyes.  He stood straight and serious in his Alliance uniform.  The woman, though, was stunning.  Her hair was raven black and her gown good quality.  But it was the blue eyes that were arresting.  They were the same ones on the man she could hear coming down the ladder.   

Looking at the frame on the left, she found a younger version of that man, arm in arm with someone who could only be his brother.  This man had his father’s curly hair, but the same arresting eyes of the woman in the first picture.  He was a little older than the young Killian in the photo, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like, growing up with a sibling, with parents.

The last frame was startling in its intimacy.  The woman looked enough like the first to be her daughter, but the way she was posed on Killian’s bed, stretched out and languid as she starred at the camera and the photographer was anything by sisterly.  In place of the startling blue eyes of the first woman, this woman’s were dove gray.

The hand reached passed her, shoving all three frames face down on the shelf.  Emma stayed still, but she could feel heat radiating off of the man now standing behind her.  “Curiosity killed the cat, Swan.”  The words were said in her ear, harsh and low.  “You don’t want me looking at your holos, do you?”

“Don’t have any.” She made herself turn slowly, and the movement seemed to shake him, making him take a step back.  “Sorry.  I’m not much good in polite society.”

He blinked at her at that, and seemed surprised.  Then he waved her to a seat at the table.  Opening one of the cabinets, he came back with a bottle of dark alcohol and two glasses.  He set them down, then poured her a glass without asking.  He left his own to sit as he turned, coming up with a tablet, then set down next to her rather than across so she could see what he was doing.  He poured his on tumbler and stuck a cork back in the bottle before seeming to settle.

Emma sniffed the glass as she raised it, then cocked an eyebrow.  “Is rum your solution to everything?”

Killian laughed at that, the lingering tension seeming to drain from him.  “Well, it certainly can’t hurt.”  He raised his glass in a mocking salute and she found herself clinking hers to it.  “So, lass, let’s talk about this shit storm you’ve landed in.”

Killian swiped the tablet, bringing up the display.  “This is the AGS Argo.  It went derelict over a month ago when ts compression coil blew.  The Alliance pulled the crew off of her, but didn’t have time to get the cargo.  Planned salvage got delayed repeatedly while other, more important things came up.”

Emma looked at footage of the ship, clearly showing damage.  “I am assuming that wherever it was going wasn’t a core world.”

“Got it in one, Swan.”  Jones taped the screen in a sequence and the image shifted.  “This is the manifest Badger sent me when he offered me the…off the books salvage.”

Emma read the list before her, eyes going wide.  “Shit.”

“Indeed, quite a haul to be had.”  Jones sat back again, taking a long pull on his rum.  “Only Badger rather…under-represented how closely the Alliance was monitoring it.  And he forgot to mention the cargo is imprinted.”

Emma took a drink of her own rum, feeling it burn down to her stomach.  It had been a while since she had a drink with someone without plans to take them in for a bounty.  “That’s because Badger is Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze.”

Killian nearly chocked on his rum at that.  It was a fairly epic curse to lay on someone.  “Quite right.”  He paused and tapped the tablet again.  “Ever been to Queen Anne, Swan?”

“Never had the pleasure.”  Emma watched as another snicker snuck out of him. 

“No one has had the pleasure.  Nothing pleasurable about Queen Anne.”  He pushed the tablet towards her, letting her take in the image of a man with ridiculously long curly hair and an exaggerated mustache.  “Edward Teach controls the colony there with an iron fist.  He’s pretty much a slaver, and indentures people to work in the mills there until they drop.”

“Lovely.  And that’s who Badger wants us to deal with?”  Emma pushed the tablet back to him, drinking down her own rum.  Killian nodded, nodding toward the bottle.  They were at least fifteen hours out, so why not.  “Sure.”  She waited until Killian poured them each another two fingers.  “So, he tried to shoot you a lot?”

This time, he reached up and scratched his ear, a tell she was coming to learn meant he was uncomfortable.  “He and I knew each other during the war.  Didn’t get on.”

“That sounds like it’s putting it mildly.”  Emma sipped more of her rum.  “So what’s the plan?”

“We’ll go to the meet early.  Anton is a surprisingly good shot, so we’ll get him up high with something with a scope.  Do the meet, get paid, and get the fuck off the moon.”  Killian took another large sip.  “Quick stop at Santos, and I can send you back to Badger with his cut.  We all live happily ever after.”

Emma sat, running her finger around the rim of the glass.  It wasn’t the best plan, but on a broken play like this, it could be a hell of a lot worse.  “And if he tries to shoot you again?”

“Well, he’s always had shite for aim, love.”  Killian lifted the crystal in his hand again, and the wrist of his shirt slid back, revealing part of a tattoo.  Emma could make out a heart and dagger, and a name.  Milah.

“Who’s Milah?”  The words were out before she had time to think, and he stiffened back up, the earlier tension returning.  “I’m sorry.  Like I said, not good at…whatever.”

Killian threw back the second glass of rum, then poured another.  He nodded to her glass and she let him top her off.  “Just who are you, Swan?”

Emma gave a slightly bitter laugh.  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Perhaps I would.”  He set his drink down and leaned in, getting in her space.  “A deal, Emma Swan.  I answer you this question, you answer one of mine.  Deal?”

Everything in her screamed at her to finish this last drink and then call it a night.  To walk away while the going was still safe.  Then again, Emma had never been much for safe, and she had the scars to prove it.  “Deal.”

Killian nodded, and drank deep, then looked at the bed for a long moment.  “Milah was my love.  I met her not long after I got the ship in a space port.  She rented out my spare shuttle, and said she was a Guild Companion, wanted to travel and expand her client base.”  He smiled, fondly.  “Only, she never really took a job.  She had fire, and spirit and she filled a void.  And she’s dead.  So that’s that.”

Emma blinked at him.  It was abrupt, his story.  “What happened to her?”

“That’s two questions, Swan.  The deal was for one.”  He drank the last of his rum, and flipped the glass over.  “What is in that folder Badger tempted you with that would make you take this shit storm of a job?”

She hadn’t been expecting that, though perhaps she should have been.  Shit.  Emma drank down her own last drink for fortification, flipping the empty glass as he had done.  “I was found in an alley as a baby with the body of a dead woman who wasn’t my mother.”  She watched his eyes go wide.  “The record of who she was went missing.  I believe the answer to that is in that folder.  It is what makes this, as you say, shit storm of a job worth it.”

“And what do you hope to find, Emma?”  It’s the first time he’s said her name, and it’s pitched low and gravelly, and suddenly things have gone from not safe to completely and utterly dangerous.

“Deal’s a deal, Captain.”  Emma stood, moving to the stairs.  “Call me when we get to Queen Anne.”  And as fast as she could, she was up the stairs and gone.

******

Killian sat for a while at the table, contemplating completing the destruction he and Emma had started on the rum.  He was going to have to think at some point, though, and he was pretty sure headache medicine hadn’t been high on the need versus want scale of purchasing lately.  Not to mention, they currently lacked a medic.

Shrugging to break the tension in his shoulders, he found himself hoping that for once, just once, the job would go smooth.  If it did, he could get Swan off his ship and away.  She was stirring something in him, something he hadn’t felt since Milah collapsed in his arms on the cargo bay hatch ramp.  He stood and walked over, lifting first his parents’ holo, then Liam’s.  Finally, hers- the freshest wound.  His finger traced her face under the glass. 

Then he turned, working the straps on his brace loose and pulling his shirt off.  He might as well get some sleep while he could.  Gods knew Teach probably was going to try to shoot him.  It wouldn’t hurt to be sharp when the meet went down.

He climbed into the bed Milah had made for him, and closed his eyes, letting the rum carry him off.  It seemed less than five minutes when the crackle of the com by his head jerked him from sleep.

“Captain.  You there?”  Victor’s voice, and displeased by the sound of it.

Killian rubbed his face with his hand.  “What is it, man?”

“We have a problem.”  The tone was cold, and he felt his stomach plummet.  “Someone used a bootleg override to hijack the wide coms.  The signal signature shows they called the Alliance.”

“Bloody gorram hell.”


	5. Chapter 5

Emma was fast asleep when the door to the shuttle slammed open. She jerked and rolled off the edge of the bed, landing on the floor and hand going for the pistol she had hidden under the mattress. She came up with it pointed at Killian, who was pointing an equally nasty looking gun at her.

“What the hell, Jones?!” She starred into his face, which looked murderous. “I know it’s your shuttle, but…”

“What did it take, Swan? The bounty on me just too good?” His voice was hard as diamonds and as cutting. Gone was the man she had such a rapport with earlier, who she had drunk with and talked with. In his place was the hard man, the captain. And he was looking at her like he might kill her.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Killian.” He looked him in the eye, trying to make him see her. “Please, just tell me what is going on.”

“Someone used a shuttle com to bootleg onto the wide coms. They called the Alliance down on us.” His voice hadn’t changed, cold and hard. “You’re in my shuttle. So what, was the bounty on me too good?”

“Killian, think. Why would I do that? What I do is not necessarily legal. Why would I call that down on us?” Keeping her eyes locked onto his, she slowly lowered her pistol. “You know what the file means to me, the one Badger has. A thousand times the bounty on your head doesn’t make up for it if I lose that.”

Killian seemed to wake up, starring at her. “Swan.”

“There are too shuttles. Did you trace it to one or the other?” She paused as he shook his head. “Look, I’m going to reach for something. I’m going to do it slow. Please don’t shoot, okay?”

Emma set the gun on the floor and reached for the satchel at the foot of the bed. Reading inside, she pulled out a small, black box with a dongle that attached to her personal pad. Holding it out slowly, she waited until he lowered his gun, tucking it into a holster at his back. He took the device and picked it up, looking it over.

“This…bloody gorram hell, it’s a…”

“Direct line wide spectrum com.” She stood, slowly. “I don’t need to piggy back onto your ship to call long distance. So why would I?”

“If you didn’t do it?” He seemed genuinely confused as she reached out and took the device back. “What the bloody hell is going on on my ship?”

Emma thought back to her walk home from his cabin. Through the galley, Sidney Glass sitting and chatting with Ruby and Victor. Zelena nowhere to be seen. Dr. Hopper…head to the cargo bay. “Did Archie Hopper ask about getting something from the cargo bay?”

“Shite.” He turned to go. “I just want bloody thing to go right.”

“Give me a sec.” He glanced back as she pulled on her boots and her holster. Jamming the gun back into it, she pulled her coat on.

“This isn’t your fight, lass.” He looked at her. “You might be able to skate with the Alliance is on us.”

Emma shoved him toward the door. “On a ship with an imprinted cargo, with an illegal com. Right, they’ll just let me fly on by.”

The two of them hurried toward the cargo bay. In the passenger storage space, they found Archie Hopper leaning over a large crate. Killian reached for his gun, but Emma reached out, grabbing his arm. “Dr. Hopper, what are you doing?”

The man jumped, jerking away from the box. “Captain Jones, Miss Swan! I was just…This cargo is fragile, and I just wanted to check on it.”

“Supposed to ask for an escort, mate.” Killian moved slowly around the edge of the space. “Where else have you been?”

“I don’t understand. I just wanted to check on this box before going to bed.” Archie Hopper looked back and forth between them. “I’m sorry; I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Why did you call the Alliance, Dr. Hopper?” Emma drew his attention to her. “What do you want out of it?”

“The Alliance?! The Alliance is coming?!” The unassuming, mousy man was panicked. Legitimately panicked. “Oh, this is not good. Not good at all.”

Emma looked at him, really looked, and then shot a glance over to Killian. “He’s telling the truth. He doesn’t know.”

“What?” Killian looked at her. “How do you know?”

Emma shrugged. “It’s kind of my superpower. The doctor here didn’t call them.”

Killian sighed. “If he didn’t, who did?”

“That would be us.” The voice came from behind them and they turned. Sidney Glass was standing, a gun pressed against the back of Ruby’s head. Zelena West stood just past him, her own gun trained on Hopper. “Relax, Captain. Do as we ask, and everything will be just fine.”

Ruby was shoved toward Killian, who caught her and kept her from falling to the rough metal deck of the cargo bay. “What the hell do you want?”

“We’re here for Dr. Hopper.” Archie was standing as if frozen, Emma staring at him. What could this cricket of a man have done to warrant this? “Where’s the boy, doctor?”

“There’s no boy.” This was from Ruby. Killian moved, putting himself between the mechanic and Emma and the two people with guns. “I helped load him in myself. He was all alone.”

“Don’t lie to us, little girl.” Zelena West was no longer a charming entrepreneur. Instead, she was sneering at them. “We’re willing to look the other way on that marked Alliance cargo, but only if you cooperate.” She seemed to catch the annoyance on Killian’s face. “Oh, did you really think we didn’t know about that? How quaint. It really is hard to see what all the fuss was about, back when you were the darling of the Alliance fleet officer’s core.

Emma sucked in a quiet breath. Killian’s father was in an Alliance uniform in the picture in his cabin, but she had assumed he had been on the side of the Independents the whole war. She watched something close of fury pass over his face before it went blank. Now was not the time.

“Look, I have no dog in this fight.” Emma moved, stepping out from behind Killian. She caught his look, horror and fear and something else she really couldn’t place. Or didn’t want to. “But I can promise you, there isn’t a little kid running around here. You’d have seen him. So let’s all just calm down, put the guns down, and relax, okay?”

Glass laughed as their eyes followed her. “As if you’re not in on it, Miss Swan? We know who you are.”

“Well, then, you’re a damn sight better informed than I am, because I sure as hell don’t.” Emma looked up, spotting Mulan and Anton sneaking into position on the catwalk, rifles at the ready. “Look, no one needs to go shooting anyone. After all, we’re on a ship. You open fire in here, hit the wrong thing, ship goes boom, and were all crispy, spaced corpses.”

Ruby had slipped further back along the wall at Killian’s signal and was moving toward the door leading away from the hold. Suddenly, West caught sight of her movement. “Stop, Ruby.”

The girl froze, hands up as Zelena trained her gun on her. Just then, Anton spoke. “You should drop your weapons.”

Glass and West both glanced up. Mulan chimed in, “Really, we’re fairly certain that we can put you down without nicking Captain’s paint. Are you sure of your shot?”

Glass kept his gun trained on Killian, Zelena’s stayed on Ruby. “Fairly sure.” He nodded toward Hopper. “Did you really think no one would come for you, Doctor? You took the son of one of the most powerful women in the Alliance government. Do all of you really want to be party to kidnapping when the cruiser coming for us gets here?”

“Kidnapping?” Killian’s voice was full of rage. “Look, I would love to have all of you off my bloody ship. But put the gorram firearms down.”

“Please, you don’t understand.” Hopper’s voice was desperate. “I can’t let…”

“I said guns down!” Mulan’s voice had an air of command.

“You stand down.” Zelena now. It was becoming cacophonous. And Emma could see the situation getting out of control. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby, looking panicked, and then suddenly, the ship shuddered.

*****

It happens almost in slow motion. One minute, everyone is yelling, and the next Ruby is sliding down the bulkhead wall, hand clutching her stomach as bright red soaks her cheerful white shirt.

“RUBY!” Before he could think, Emma was in motion, hand in her boot, and the sound of a blade cutting the air as the small dagger buried itself in Sidney Glass’s shoulder. The gun fell from his hands to the metal floor with a clatter as Zelena swung around, her pistol still smoking. Emma’s flying tackle caught her around the middle and knocked her to the ground before a vicious right hook rendered her unconscious.

Killian doesn’t pause, running to where Ruby sat slumped against the wall. “Ruby, sweetie, talk to us.”

Ruby looked up, dazed. “Hurts.” Her head tilted back against the wall. “Cold.”

“I know, lass, I know.” He glanced back to find Emma using her belt to bind Glass’s arms, while Mulan working on Zelena with packing straps. Archie Hopper had moved closer to him. “This is your fault, you bastard.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.” He stepped in as Emma came closer, kneeling next to him.

“You have to help her, doctor.” Emma’s voice was even and hard, and he was bloody grateful, because his instinct right now was to tear Hopper’s throat out with his hook.

“I’m not that kind of doctor. I was a psychiatrist.” He sounded panicked and Killian swore under his breath.

“That still takes Med School, right?” Emma makes him look at her. “I’ve done back alley patchwork. Between you and I, we can do this, dong ma?”

Archie is nodding, and Killian thinks there might be hope, when Victor’s voice comes over the com. “Captain, Alliance cruiser in range and coming one strong. What do I do?”

Killian can’t think. If they’re boarded now, with two alliance agents injured and bound, they’re all fucked. But the Alliance vessel would have medical staff. They want Hopper, maybe he could make a deal. Himself and Hopper for the crew, for Ruby.

Suddenly, the man figures out his train of thought. “You’re all expendable to them, Captain. They don’t just want me, they want all trace of me gone. They’ll kill you all to do it.” His gaze shifts to Emma. “You they’ll kill on sight. They aren’t going to wait for a trial.”

“They aren’t animals.” Emma’s words were still even, but they lacked their earlier conviction.

“They are worse.” He turned back to Killian. “You have to run. You run, I save your friend. You stay, you all die.”

“Captain.” Victor’s voice came again. “Running out of time, sir.”

“Victor?” The pain and the fear in Ruby’s voice break him. Fuck.

“Victor, get us the fuck out of here, fast as you can.” He turned back to Hopper. “She dies, I throw you out the air lock, dong ma?”

To his credit, the bespectacled man nods mutely. Emma just looks done. “Right, we need to get her to your bed bay. It’s not a through and through, we need to get that bullet out.” She nodded at Killian. “Keep pressure. Archie, grab her legs. On three. One, two, three.”

It took work to shuffle down to the infirmary, but when they got there, he was grateful he’d always kept it stocked. Emma immediately started going through drawers, pulling out supplies and setting up a surgical tray. Killian watched as Hopper washed his hands and gloved up, then started an IV. Once that was done, Killian directed them to the drug cabinet. A push of drugs and a set of monitors and Ruby was out. Emma showed him how to keep the oxygen mask on her and monitor the girl, then she and Hopper got to work.

The doctor was doing the heavy lifting, but Emma worked like a trained trauma nurse, and he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of life she had led that she was so efficient at this. Who the hell was this woman who had washed up on his shores and among his crew? And what the fuck had Glass meant, they knew who she was?

Finally, after an hour, Hopper stitched Ruby up, and stepped back, sweating and exhausted. Emma wiped her own head off, then handed him a clean towel. She moved to strip her gloves and wash her hands.

“Will she live?” He pitched his voice low and to Emma, but Hopper heard.

“She’s young and strong, and the bullet missed everything major.” The man gave a nervous sigh. “I have every hope.”

“You better.” Killian’s voice was a growl. The three of them stepped out into the hall to find Mulan and Anton waiting.

“I locked them up in the brig, strapped in. They aren’t going anywhere.” His second in command was rigid with fury as she looked at Hopper. “How’s Ruby?”

“Hopefully okay.” Emma spoke with that even, measured tone, the one he remembered the best commandeers having. Liam had that tone.

“Mulan, go check on Victor. Find out how far off course he had to jump us to get clear. Once we’re back on course for Queen Anne, take over.” He paused and swallowed hard. “He should be with his wife.”

Mulan nodded. She hurried away, leaving the others. “Anton, go keep guard on the brig. Who knows how crafty those bastards are.” The big man turned without question and followed Mulan the way she had come.

“What about…am I to be put in the brig?” Hopper’s voice was thin.

Killian felt the rage boil back up in him. Kidnapping and on the run, and Gods, Ruby could pick them. Suddenly, he was curious. What the fuck was so special about that box?

“No, now we get answers.” And with that, he turned and stormed back towards the cargo bay, Emma and Hopper on his heels.

The man quickly figured out his intentions and tried to intercept, but Emma grabbed him, twisting his arm. “Don’t, doctor.”

She frog marched him into the bay as Killian came to a stop at the crate. Grabbing a crow bar, he prised the wood up to reveal a box, humming quietly like a refrigerator. A control switch sat in one upper corner. “So, just who did you kidnap, mate?” Hopper blanched. “They said it was a kid. Are you some sort of perv who likes little boys?”

He could see Emma go slightly green at the thought. Hopper protested. “It’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like?” Killian reached toward the button. “Better yet, let’s ask the lad.”

Hopper stiffened and yelled, “No!” But Killian’s hand had already moved, pushing the button. With a hiss and a pop, the lid came open, revealing a boy around ten years old. With dark hair and a prominent nose, he wasn’t what Killian had expected. In fact, he looked like…he looked like Milah’s son.

“Bae?” he breathed, just as Emma whispered, “Neal?”

Then the child stirred and his eyes blinked open. “Hi.” The young voice was rough from cryo sleep. “I’m Henry.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the continued kudos and comments. I greatly appreciate it.

The boy wasn’t naked, thank god.  Instead, he was wearing one of the newest in top of the line cryo-safe sleep suits, a development that had come out in the last year or two.  Emma still couldn’t believe there had been a child in cryo-sleep in the hold and they hadn’t known.  She could feel the emotion pouring off Killian where he stood next to her.  Confusion, anger, lack of control.  If Ruby did pull through, she suspected there would be no more civilian passengers for a long time, if ever.

She turned to face Hopper.  “Do you have any real clothes for him?”

The doctor looked shocked.  “Oh, yes.  I mean, of course.  I mean…”

“How about we get him dressed and then up to the galley.  I bet you’re hungry, right kid?”

“Starved.”  The boy was smiling up at her with this cute, crooked grin and her heart ached at it.  There was no way what she was thinking was possible, and she had long ago stopped looking for a child’s face in every crowd, but her soul cried out for it all the same.  She forced her own smiled in return, then sent him with Killian as a chaperone to change into the clothes waiting in Hopper’s room.

Her own attention was focused on the doctor.  “So, was Captain Jones right?  Are you some kind of perv?”

The man blanched even paler, making his receding ginger hair stand out.  “Gods, no.  I was…I am Henry’s psychiatrist.”

Emma snorted, her own memories of the various headshrinkers and quacks from her time in the system coming back to her.  “Pretty sure the job description for that doesn’t actually include taking the kid and running off.”

Hopper rubbed his hand tiredly.  “Do you think we could maybe sit on the stairs?  I don’t know about you, but confrontation and emergency surgery are kind of exhausting.”

She had to give him that point, so she nodded and he walked over, dropping down to sit on one step.  She took the one just above him, where she had a clear shot if he tried to run.  “So, talk.”

Hopper nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the rail.  “Henry is an incredibly bright and gifted child, with a lot of imagination.  I’ve been seeing him for the past few years because he’s had issues with his mother.”  He paused, considering his next words, and Emma waited.  “Henry is adopted, and his mother, Regina Mills, is as they said, one of the most powerful women in the echelon of Alliance power.  That had never bothered me, but the longer I was treating Henry, the more I realized that this failure to…bond may be running both ways.”

Just then, Henry and Killian came back from the passenger dorm, and Emma stood, offering a hand to Hopper.  The boy bounded up to them and grabbed Archie’s hand, and the two of them followed her up the stairs to the galley, with Killian at the rear.  After Emma had pulled together and warmed some leftovers for the kid, the three adults moved to an area of couches to the side where they could see Henry, but be unheard.

“So, Henry isn’t bonding with his mom.  And the best way to treat that was to pick up and run?”  Emma continued her interrogation, trusting Killian to keep up.  Hopper’s explanation seemed crazy to her, and she was used to cutting and running being a first choice among all possible life choices.

Hopper glanced at the boy, shaking his head.  “Of course not.  But six weeks ago, Henry came to session incredibly agitated.  He said he had found something in his mother’s files, something that showed she had…had done something to a whole planet in revenge for something.”  Killian looked utterly incredulous.  “I know, at first I thought that he was imagining it.  But he told me it was a secret only I, he, and his nanny, Annika, knew.  But then the next session, Annika wasn’t with him.  The new nanny said Annika had resigned suddenly due to a family issue.”

“Plausible.”  Killian was staring intently at Archie.  “Life happens, mate.”

Hopper shook his head.  “Annika had been with Henry his whole life, loved him like he was her own.  And she had no family.  Her husband and son died in the war.”  He dropped his voice.  “A week later, there was news of a woman’s body being found, head and feet cut off, in a river outside the city.  I pulled some strings and got my hands on the autopsy report.  Annika had a distinctive birthmark.  I am positive it was her.”

Emma searched his face, but couldn’t find the lie.  Everything Archie Hopper was saying was the absolute truth, as far as he believed it.  And he didn’t strike her as a crazy man.  Harried and panicked, but not crazy.

She looked up to find Henry starring at her and Killian where they sat.  “I didn’t ask your names.”

“Killian Jones, lad.”  He smiled warmly at the boy and for some reason, Emma’s heart did this little tug.  “ _The Jolly Roger_ is my ship.”

“Cool!”  The kid was practically bouncing on his feet with excitement and it does something to her to see it, and that scares her, nearly as much as the feeling of… connection she had felt in Killian’s cabin yesterday…today…god, who knew.  She realizes suddenly that the kid asked her something.

“Sorry, what?” She noticed Killian looking at her strangely, and chose to focus on the boy instead.

“I asked, and what’s your name?”  He was looking at her with wide eyes.

“Emma.  Emma Swan.”  The reaction was swift and instantaneous.  Henry swung around, laughing and looking at Doctor Hopper like he had conquered the whole verse.

“You found her!”  Three words, hardly a sentence, but Emma’s world tilted off axis.  There was no way it was possible.  There were so many planets, and billions of people, and it simply wasn’t possible. Her chest tightened and it felt hard to breath and she was more than a little afraid she was going to pass out.

“Swan?”  Killian’s voice was soft in her ear, pitched for her and not the others.  She didn’t have time to answer before Henry turned back to her.

“You’re my birth mom!”

And Emma did what she was so very, very good at doing.  She ran.

*****

Killian saw the boy’s face drop as Emma mumbled and excuse me and took off through the ship.  Of all the bloody, buggering.  Hopper had apparently known, and hadn’t prepared her.  Had sprung it on her using the lad.  Bollocks.

“Henry, lad.”  The boy’s gaze shifted back around to him.  “We had a bit of excitement before you woke up.  Emma hasn’t had much sleep, and a friend of ours is hurt.  I think she may be a bit overwhelmed.  How about you and I head down to the passenger dorms and set you up with a room?  I think Doctor Hopper probably wants to look in on our friend and see how she is, okay?”

Henry nodded, and yawned.  He remembered being ten, when boundless energy was followed by a crash and sleeping like the dead in his lower bunk, Liam on the one above him.  It was both a happy and a melancholic memory, and he held onto it briefly before letting it go.

He had the lad squared away in no time, putting him on the same side as Hopper, away from where Glass and West’s rooms were.  Later, he’d need to make a search, see what he could find out about them.  For now, though, he had somewhere to be.

The door to the shuttle stood closed, but unlocked when he knocked.  At first, there came no answer, and he wondered if she was hiding or asleep.  After a moment, though, Emma slid the door open to him, turning her back and not waiting for him to step into the room or say anything.  It could be a sign of how quickly she’d grown to trust him, or that she was tired and beyond caring, that she would meet him with anything but her back to the wall.

“Are you all right, love?”  The question fell quiet, and from where she had dropped into a ball on the couch, she met it with a bitter, broken laugh.

“Seriously?” She looked up at him, and the look in her eyes took his breath.  He had seen it so many times in the age flecked mirror in his cabin, a look that rang of loss and regret and pain so deep seated, it was likely tattooed on her heart.  “Yeah, I’m peachy.”

He dropped down next to her, not waiting for an invitation.  Emma didn’t move, gazing into the floor in the middle distance.  He knew it was bollocks, but… “Maybe the lad’s wrong?”

“He’s not.”  Her voice rang hollow in the shuttle.  “I think I knew the moment we saw him.  The age was right, and he…god, he looks like his father.”

“I’m sorry, Emma.”  Aching honesty fell between them, and he wondered what his life had become in the last twenty-four hours.  He wasn’t this man, not anymore.

“What the hell do I even do?  I don’t know how to be someone’s mother.”  It wasn’t directed at him.  She was asking the air, as if someone outside of them, greater than them, might be able to grant her that knowledge.

“For now, get to know the lad.  He seems straight forward.  I suspect if he has need of you, he’ll say.”  Killian reached tentatively over, giving her hand a squeeze.  “Try to get some more rest, Swan.  I’m for the bridge to see where the deuce we are.”

She said nothing, just nodded, and he took his leave. 

The ship was mostly quiet tonight.  Walking from the shuttles through the galley and to the bridge, he saw that Hopper had cleaned up Henry’s dishes and put them away.  He was conflicted about what to do with pair.  On the one hand, if what the two government agents in his brig had said was true, they were magnets for trouble.  He’d needed more trouble like he needed a hole in his head or the loss of his other hand.

On the other hand, what Hopper had said, about the information in the boy’s mother’s files?  A planet she had harmed in revenge.  Surely, such a thing would be in the news, unless someone had the clout to cover it up.  The way Miranda had been.  Because now, he couldn’t even find Miranda on a star map.  Nothing existed of it, and every man who had served with him on the _Jewel_ was dead in the war or hanged as a traitor.  The fact that they let him live was only a testament to how insane he sounded trying to tell the tale.

If the planet the lad had been talking about was Miranda, if he could somehow get ahold of that evidence, he could finally, finally make people believe.  Make sure Liam hadn’t died in vain.

And if a traitorous part of his brain whispered that maybe, just maybe Emma would stay on then, well.  He’d burn that bridge when he came to it.

******

On Osiris, an old man stepped quietly into an opulent office, standing by the door as the woman at the desk finished a com call with someone.  Her dark hair was twisted into a tight French twist above the black silk jacquard business suit, a subtle medallion pattern highlighting the Mandarin collar. 

He had loved watching her from the time she was a little girl, before Cora had managed to poison her heart.  She had always been so dedicated, so focused.  Even now, listening to her eviscerate a pair of lower level counselors from one of the border worlds, he couldn’t help but smile.  He may have been a fourth son, destined for little beyond an empty title and a small living, but his daughter.  She had always been fit to be a queen.

She signed off the call and glanced up, smiling at him.  “Hello, daddy.”

“Regina, my dear.”  He walked forward, coming to sit at the guest chair closest to her desk.  “How are you doing?”

“I’ll be better when our people manage to retrieve my son and that idiot doctor.”  Regina’s hand gripped the edge of the dark wood hard.  “Is there news?”

His smile faltered, and she narrowed her eyes.  In his experience, it was better to give her bad news directly, like ripping off a band-aid.  “Our agents made contact from a vessel on its way toward the rim.  The called for backup from the nearest cruiser, but by the time the Alliance was in range, they were gone.  We haven’t heard anything further.”

“Damnation!”  She grabbed a small crystal sculpture of a horse and threw it into the nearby fireplace, shattering it.  “I will have someone’s head for this.”

“We’ll find the boy, darling.  I promise.”  Henry Mills, Senior, looked at his daughter solemnly.  “Have I ever let you down?”

At his words, Regina seemed to calm.  “No, daddy.  You’re the only one who never has.”  She sighed, sitting back into her chair.  “And we’re sure that the nanny can’t be traced.”

“The body was incinerated as a vagrant yesterday.”  He reached out, gently squeezing her hand.  “Soon, we’ll find Henry and we’ll figure out what to do, and this will all have been just a bad memory.”

“I hope you’re right.”  The smile that lit her face now was downright predatory.  “Otherwise, heads will roll.”

****

Mulan sat at the controls of the ship, reading over the displays as he walked in.  “So, where in the nine hells are we?”

“Not too far off course, actually.”  She glanced up at him.  “Victor is an amazing pilot.  He put us far enough off course that no one would think to look here, but not so ridiculously far that we’ll lose days.  We’re a four hour delay away, at most.”

Killian nodded.  He’d need to message Teach soon, let him know when they wanted to meet.  It was all just…he almost wished they were a little further out, because he really, really wanted a moment to breath.

“How’s Ruby?”  Mulan’s voice was even, but he could hear the concern in it.  His second played her emotions close to the vest, as it were, but he knew that she cared about their crew.  Even if her way of showing it was less about hugging and more about killing anything that threatened them.

“She’s holding steady.  Hopper did a good job, with Swan’s help.”  He could see her in his mind, moving with the grace and skill of a surgeon herself.  Or a dancer.  “Bloody marvel, that one.”

“So what are we doing now?”  Her voice was soft, but purposeful.  “We’ve got two Alliance agents on board we need to get rid of, a job to finish, and then the good doctor.”

“About that.”  He paused, then filled her in on the boy, and his connection to Emma.  “So, complications, as it were.”

She let out a soft whistle.  “Well, you aren’t wrong.” 

Killian sat down in the co-pilot’s chair and rubbed his eyes.  He was tired.  “What would you do?”

“I’d find a nice deep gorge on Queen Anne, shoot the Alliance agents in the head, and drop their bodies in it.  Then I’d set fire to their stuff and burn it to ash.”  Mulan’s voice was calm and even.  “I’d do the job with Teach, try not to kill the shee-niou bastard unless we have it.  Hide the Doctor and the kid until we can have Swan do her check in with Badger, then drop the three of them on some out of the way world.”

Killian barked a laugh.  “You always were much more cutthroat than I was.”

“War is hell.”  The words fell between them, landing like a lead weight.  “But at the end of the day, you’re the captain.  It’s not up to me.”

Killian nodded, looking thoughtful.  “So, what total, seven hours?”

“There about.”  Mulan turned her attention back to the control panel.

“I’ll spell you out in three.”  Rising, he walked out of the bridge toward his bunk.

“Captain?”  Mulan’s voice was still soft, but pitched to carry.  “You’ll do the right thing.  You always do.”

He smiled at her faith in him, then punched the button for his door.  He desperately needed sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I ended up feeling really run down this weekend and slept most of it. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal posting speed this week.

Emma had slept fitfully for a few hours, rocked again and again by dreams.  They were nothing new, but it had been a while since they had come with this kind of frequency.  Dark hair and dark eyes and a shit-eating grin that had made her not quite eighteen year old heart do a back flip.  She had gotten in deep with Neal so fast that she never saw the betrayal coming that landed her, pregnant and alone, in an Alliance workhouse on Boros. 

Finally giving up on further sleep, she rose and dressed, heading down to the infirmary.  The door slid open quietly, revealing Ruby laying on the gurney bed, with Victor on a stool next to her, his head leaned against her shoulder fast asleep.  Emma was surprised when the other woman’s eyes slid open, looking at her.  “Hey, Ruby.  How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot.”  The answer was made with a quirk of her lips, and Emma found herself chuckling.  “Victor said you and Doc Hopper took care of me.  Thank you.”

Emma flushed slightly.  “Needed doing.”  She glanced at Victor.  “Is he okay, laying on you?”

The woman’s gaze turned fond as she looked at her husband.  “He’s only been asleep maybe an hour, and I know Captain will need him back on the bridge before long.  It’s okay.”

Emma nodded.  “You need anything before I go?”

“Is Captain Jones all right?”  Ruby’s voice was quiet in its concern.

Emma remembered the man’s reaction the night before.  “You scarred him.  He seems to care about you a lot.”

“He’s a good man, the Captain.”  Ruby gave her a knowing smile.  “He plays all hard and gruff, but underneath, he’s got a lot of heart to give.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”  She squeezed the woman’s free hand.  “I’ll come back by later.  Get some rest.”

She turned and was surprised to find Doctor Hopper curled up asleep on one of the couches just outside the door.  He had blended in to her sleep deprived brain when she had passed him earlier.  Now, she could see the worry lines on his face, even deeply asleep, and she felt sorry for him.  He had been through hell these last few weeks, it sounded like, trying to get Henry somewhere safe.

She left him to sleep and made her way up to the galley.  Walking in, she stopped short at the sight of Henry sitting at the table between Mulan and Anton, happily munching away on a fruity oaty bar and sharing some book with them.  He glanced up and his face broke out into a wide grin.  “Emma!”

“Hey, kid.”  His smile stabbed, wounding her again as it had last night, and she had to take a breath to keep her flight response in check.  There was nowhere she could go, short of stealing that shuttle she’s staying in, and they were too far out from a plant to make that seem useful.  Plus, she had no grand illusions about what being trapped on a planet like Queen Anne would be like.  “Eating breakfast?”

“Yeah, Mulan helped me.  She’s really nice.  And Anton was telling me about his favorite gun.  He calls it Tiny, but it’s actually really big.”  Henry was talking a mile a minute, and she found herself giving the other two at the table an apologetic look.  Mulan just nodded at her, quietly excusing herself.  Anton was smiling, however, and he leaned over, ruffling the boy’s hair as he stood to follow the much smaller woman.

Emma turned looking through the cabinets before finding more of the bars.  She grabbed one and opened the wrapper.  The compressed nutrient replacements did taste like fruit and oats, and also cardboard and glue.  She couldn’t understand why Henry seemed so pleased to be eating on.  She’d rather be on a world with eggs and bacon and…

“French toast is better, but this is an adventure.”  Henry’s words pulled her up short.  French toast had become her favorite ever since Neal…Her eyes snapped back to the boy.  “Do you like it?  Or waffles?”

“French toast is awesome.”  Her voice was a little weak, and she took another deep breath.  She could do this, right?  “Did you sleep okay?”

“Kinda.”  Henry dropped back into his seat.  “I’ve never traveled on a ship before.  It makes a lot of little noises.”

“Yeah, they do, don’t they kid?”  Emma grabbed a glass of water and sat down opposite him.  “So, where did you…I mean, where’s home for you?”

“You mean, where does my adopted mom live?”  Henry grinned at her.  “Osiris.  Regina’s main estate is in Capital City.  She’s also got a vacation home out at a lake nearby.”

“And what about your father?”  Emma was surprised he called his mother Regina.  Archie hadn’t mentioned any other placements before this one, and she had just assumed that he would have grown up calling her mom or mother or…well, what did Emma know?

“I’ve never had one.”  He looked at her.  “Regina used to say that his name was Daniel, and he died, but then it came out I was adopted and she admitted he died a long time ago.”

“Ah.  Right.”  Suddenly, she really wished that Archie was at the table with them.  She wondered if her line of questions was messing up the kid psyche or whatever.

They’re both quiet for a bit, then Henry asked, “What about your parents?”

And wasn’t that the million credit question?  She tried to figure out a diplomatic way to answer.  “I didn’t really have any.  Or, I guess, I had to have them, but I never knew them?”  She sees his eyes go wide.  “I was found abandoned as a baby, and I grew up in state care.  On Persephone.  It’s why when…when I was trying to give you your best chance, I asked them to place you through an agency.”

“So, you were like me? A lost kid?”  He was earnest and forgiving and she really couldn’t breathe. 

“Yeah, kid.”  She found her focus on her hands.  “I…I am sorry, about your mom.  I tried.”

“I know.”  He was smiling at her again.  “I’m just glad I found you.”

“Aye, she’s a marvel, isn’t she lad?”  Her head came up to find Killian leaning against the doorway.

“Good morning, Captain Jones!”  Henry had clearly never met a stranger, and she can’t imagine what would happen to him, with his innocence and his Core world manners out here on the rim. 

“Sleep well, young Master Henry?”  The man’s voice was light and teasing and unexpected.  Who the hell was Killian Jones, really?

“Yes, sir.  Thank you!”  Then Henry seemed to sober up a bit.  “I am awfully sorry for all the trouble, sir.”

She watched as the man’s eyes softened.  “That isn’t your fault, Henry.  Don’t worry yourself, lad.”  He glanced up at Emma, and she was surprised when his eyes stayed soft toward her.  “Would you mind going down stairs and checking in with Doctor Hopper, lad?  I need to speak to Emma about business.”

“Sure.”  Henry got up, and before she knew it, he was giving her a hug.  “I’m glad I found you, Emma.”

“Me too, kid.”  The words were soft, and meant sincerely.  She had never expected to see this boy, but now that she has, she can’t imagine living the rest of her life without this moment.  She watched him duck out of the galley and head down the stairs toward the infirmary and passenger dorms.  Turning her attention, she brought her gaze back to Killian.

“Well, Captain, let’s get down to business.”

*****

He had managed three solid hours of sleep before his alarm beeped and he had risen and strapped his brace back on.  It wasn’t much, but it was enough that he thought he could go into this meeting without getting anyone killed. 

Mulan had been grateful for the reprieve, slipping off to bed for her own bit of sleep.  She was a warrior to her bones in the way he had never truly felt like, able to go days without sleep and seeming to run on pure grit.  But he knew she was grateful for sleep when it did come.  It’s part of why she had followed him even after they had come out of the hell hole of an alliance prison after the war.  This life did allow for sleep, usually.

Sitting on the bridge alone, he watching the vastness of space through the ship window.  He’d always felt at home on a ship, from the first time his father had taken he and Liam on a tour when he was a child, to the first day he set foot on one as a rankly new midshipmen out of the Fleet academy.  When the war had finally ended for him, the day he’d walked out of prison, he had thought briefly of trying to go back to Southsea, and find some kind of work.  Even though it had been heavily for the Alliance during the war, he still had a few childhood friends in Maritime. 

But at night, he would close his eyes and remember the amazement and joy he and Liam had always felt on the bridge of the _Jewel_.  The sheer wonder of it all, sitting up late with star charts and looking at nebulas and asteroid belts and the tricks of navigating in the black.  He could hear his brother’s voice again, telling him how grand their adventures were going to be together in this brave, vast place.  Buying the _Jolly_ couldn’t raise Liam from the dead, would never bring him back, but nights like this, alone with the inky dark, he felt more at peace than almost anywhere else.

Originally, he’d thought to pilot her himself, but after a while, and Mulan’s blunt assessment, he had to admit that for any serious piloting, two hands would be needed.  Or massive modification to the ships controls.  And he couldn’t bring himself to do that to his tender girl.  Plus, when they had lucked on to Victor in an Independent friendly bar, he had felt an instant kinship with the man.  Victor too had a brother, though his was younger.  Gerhardt had been an Alliance officer at the start of the war, something Victor hadn’t been able to do because of a mild heart murmur.  His death in a senseless battle would have driven Victor into the Independent army if they would have taken him.  Instead, he had spent the war running merchant ship loads to outlier planets.  Victor’s flying was a thing of beauty.

Killian sighed and flipped on the communications system, punching in the information that Badger had given him for Teach’s operation on Queen Anne.  Within a few minutes, he found himself looking at the bastard in person.  “Teach.”

“You have a nerve on you, Jones, contacting me.”  Teach was practically growling into the camera on his end.  “Unless you want to get shot again.”

“Stand down, old man.”  Jones kept his voice even, though his blood seethed below the surface.  “I’m just the delivery man.  I have the cargo Badger promised you.  We’ll be at the rendezvous you gave him in about 6 hours.”  It was four more hours than it was going to take, but he wanted to get there and get set up long before Teach would think to.

“Figures that snake in the grass would use a lame dog to do his dirty work.”  Teach smirked.  “Makes me of half a mind to cancel the deal.”

“Well, say now.  And then forget Badger ever dealing with you again.”  Jones tried to effect an air of boredom.  “He won’t like having to eat the cost of the fuel to come this far, for you to change your mind.”

That seemed to give the other man pause.  “Fine.  Come along then.  We do the deal, and then you get the feck off my planet, savvy?”

“Always a pleasure, Teach.”  At that, Killian cut the transmission.

Killian looked up to find Victor watching him from the doorway.  The man looked more than a bit haggard.  “How is she, mate?”

“She’s joking, which is probably a good sign.”  The pilot dragged a hand through his hair.  “She asked for you.  When you have time.”

“You good to take over?”  Killian looked at him hard.  “No shame in saying if you aren’t.”

“I’ll hang in there until we get the drop done.  Then if you or Mulan can give me a couple of hours, I’d appreciate it.”  Victor waited for him to stand, then settled into his chair like he was born to it.  “No worries, Captain.”

“Never, mate.”  Killian left the bridge, heading for the galley to grab a breakfast bar.  He pulled up short when he saw Emma sitting in galley with the lad.  Henry was smiling at her with fond bright eyes, and he couldn’t help but wonder that the lad would be so forgiving of the mother who’d left him behind.  He remembered Milah always worrying that if she ever saw Bae again, he wouldn’t be.

Finally, he inserted himself into their conversation.  He needed to let Emma know the plan, and make sure she was still comfortable with it.  He watched Henry hug his mother tight and then head back in the direction of the infirmary and the man who had gotten him away from what sounded like a very dangerous situation.

The Emma who turned to face him was all business.  Briefly, he went over the plan again, Emma nodding along and asking questions as he went.  He was surprised about how well her mind processed the tactics he was suggesting, and he even made a few changes at her suggestion.  Finally, they sat back.  “Are you good with this, Swan?”

Emma looked off toward the door to the stairs for a moment, then back at him.  “I have to be.  It’s not just me I’ll need the money for now.  I have Henry to think about.  And, I suppose Archie.”

He noted that she seemed grim.  “Something’s on your mind though, love?”

She didn’t correct him, just seemed to think about it.  “Sidney and Zelena said they knew who I was.  It was a closed adoption, I don’t understand how they knew.”

Killian shrugged.  “Maybe they got the records unsealed when Henry disappeared?  Perhaps they thought you’d had a hand in it.  Regretted letting him go?”

Emma sighed.  “It feels like there is more to it than that.  I just wish I knew what it was.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Swan.”  He smiled at her warmly.  “We’ve had a short acquaintance, but I’ve yet to see you fail.”

The look of surprise and wonder on her face was something he wished he could briefly bottle.  He had already known he was in trouble, but now he knew that it was, indeed, deep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the continued notes and kudos. They make my day.

Queen Anne was a particularly unremarkable world, dull and brown with more scrub grass than any other sort of vegetation and dust storms on a regular basis.  What it did have, however, was abundant sunlight, which in turn allowed for abundant solar based energy.  This allowed Edward Teach to build an almost unparalleled little fiefdom of textile mills, running all hours of the day and night.  The Alliance kept its hands off the operations of industry in these border worlds (the better to reap the tax benefits thereof), and labor laws were…marginal at best.

Victor had piloted the four of them down within a mile of the set meet site, and let them off with a mule hover craft with the cargo.  As soon as they had landed, Mulan began passing out weaponry.  Emma was surprised to be handed an additional pair of pistols on a hip belt rig, with a bandolier of extra ammo, and a long shot gun across her back.  She checked herself, finding she could draw any of them easily if she had to, but the sheer number of guns.  It all sat just a little funny over the flack vests that he had mandated for them before they even boarded the shuttle. “Are we hunting buffalo?” she asked, adjusting the fit of the leather.

“Teach is a treacherous bastard, love.”  Killian was checking his own weaponry as Anton strapped a pack on his back with a long-range sniper’s rifle.  “Plus, I do believe he means to shoot at me.  Again.”

“And registering my dislike of the plan one more time, sir.”  Mulan was strapping on a mule’s leg sawed off shotgun to her thigh.

Emma could see Killian’s eyes roll at that.  “Noted.”  He settled his own guns in their holsters.  “Anton, find the best high ground you can.  Radio when you have it.”

The big man nodded and made his way west toward a series of plateaus.  She watched as Killian climbed into the front seat of the mule, next to Mulan, who was fiddling with the controls.  She didn’t wait for an invitation, climbing up and settling on the back.  Soon, they were making their way to the exchange.  Emma didn’t have a particularly good feeling about this either, but she knew they didn’t really have a choice.  The last thing they could do right now was to go back to Badger without payment.

The mule bumped and jerked over the air currents as it made its way across plain toward a relatively flat, rock free expanse lacking in scrub brush.  She could see why it would be chosen for a meet here.  Unless you had someone capable with a long gun (thank you, Anton), it would be harder to stage an ambush. 

Just then, she heard a crackle in Killian’s ear.  “Good work.  Stay there and keep your com open.  I’ll let you know if he need you.”  Killian pulled over a good quarter of a mile from the meet site, next to some of the bigger scrub brush they’d seen.  Hopping out, he turned to her.  “Well leave the bulk of the load here, take enough bars to assure Teach we have it.  Make the exchange of the money for the coordinates.”

“Will he like that?” Emma asked, moving around to grab one side of the first crate.

“Most likely not, but it incentivizes him to keep us alive.”  Killian grabbed the other side, and together they shifted the three crates while Mulan kept watch.  He opened one, pulling out a couple of bars.  “We walk from here.”

The three of them started walking, slowly and with extreme care as they approached the meet.  As they came up, still early, horses appeared from the other direction.  Killian swore quietly under his breath.  “Anton?”

Emma stood close enough to hear him.  “I’m all alone up here boss.  No one in any direction up high.  I’ve got you covered.”

Emma watched as the number of horses increase, a motley crew of men and at least one woman, all following a man who looked like he had escaped an old fashioned circus.  Teach had his signature black beard, and long curly hair under a shiny black silk top hat.  The riders formed a v formation with him at the head.

“If it isn’t the world renowned Captain Hook,” Teach sneered.  “Come to grace my lovely planet with his presence.”

“Teach.”  Killian was short and to the point.  “We’re here to make a deal.”

“We are, Captain, but it never hurts to be friendly.  Mulan, I see you’re still flying with the scurvy dog.”  He leered at her.  “I could offer you so much more, dear.”

“I’m not really into what you’re offering.”  Mulan kept her tone hard and even, but her smile was almost predatory.

Teach seemed briefly taken aback, before his glance slid to Emma.  “Well, well, well, boy-o, you’ve found something new.  She’s a damn site prettier than the big oaf I saw you with last time.”  He gave her a slow once over and she felt her skin creep.  “Tell me, is she a better hump than your last wench.”

“We’re here for business.”  Emma’s own voice was hard.  “Are we going to do business, or not?”

“I don’t see my promised cargo.”  Teach made a show of looking left and right for it.   

Killian nodded, reaching slowly into his duster.  “Aye.  And you won’t until you’ve shown me your credits.  But here’s a sign of good faith.”  He hefted the bar to the good on Teach’s right side, who handed it over to the man.  “Its grade A, pure.  It’ll keep your workers fed and healthy for months.”

Teach opened and sniffed it, then reached to his own belt and drew out a heavy purse, tossing it back.  Mulan caught it.  “And now, the coordinates.”

Emma watched one of the other enforcers take notes as Killian described the drop point.  “So there it is, you’ll find it easy enough.”

“I do imagine we will.”  Teach was smiling in a way Emma definitely didn’t like.

“Business being done, Teach, I’d rightly appreciate you riding out of here first.”  She could see the tension rolling from Killian, and she slowly brought her hand up, as if to shield her eyes.

“Ah, but why do that when I have the directions to the cargo and I can keep my credits?”  Teach grinned.  “After all, there is seven of us and three of you.  I do rather like those odds.”

“No need to killing, Teach.”  Killian looked at the man evenly. “You going to burn that bridge with Badger?”

“No need, lad.  I’ll just put out word that you did.  Took the money and absconded.”  He smiled widely.  “You’re crew will rabbit soon as your dead, after all.  We dispose of you and your little warrior princess side-kick there. You lack imagination, boy-o, which is why you continue to scuttle through space on your precious ship, while I rule here like a king.  Oh, and I’ll be keeping blondie for my own amusement.”

“Really?  She bites.”  Killian shot her a look that was almost gleeful.  “And we all know that you are very…very…tiny.”

The report of the rifle shot rang across the valley.

******

Killian’s draw incredibly fast and he got off two shots in quick succession.  Anton’s shot took out the man on Teach’s right, and his own shots claim the man on the far end.  He saw Mulan’s muzzle flash at the same time the only woman went down.  Emma got her own pistol out and stood firing next to him, and he realized she was shooting into the sides of the horses, trying to sew confusion.  It seemed to be working as a couple of the men were unhorsed, losing their weapons in the process.

Just then, he saw Mulan go down on his left and turned, aiming at the man who had clipped her.  Emma moved in tandem with him covering him from the crowd to his right.  Teach yelled as at least one of his boy made a run for it, turning and shooting the man himself.  A bullet whizzed by him, grazing his left arm, and he muttered a broken curse before Emma shot the leg out from under the man who had hit him, leaving Teach alone.

The man hid just behind his horse.  “Give up, Killian, and I’ll let you and the blonde take your dead…”

The shot from Mulan’s mare’s leg hit the horse broadside and the animal went down, taking Teach with it.  Killian and Emma advanced on his as a unit, gun drawn.  Emma stepped forward and kicked Teach’s gun out of reach as Killian placed the barrel of his against the man’s forehead.  “I did a job, you cursed sack of shite.  I’ve had aught but trouble since I did.  So let me be inestimably clear.  I do a job, and then I get paid.”  He cocked the hammer of the gun.

“Killian.”  Emma’s voice was quiet, but it held that tone of command again.  “He’s disarmed.  You kill him now, its murder.  Everything else was self-defense.  You don’t need that attention.”

He could feel the blind rage draining from him.  She was right, they really didn’t need it right now.  “Aye.”  He uncocked the hammer.  “Run your little world, Teach.”  Reaching down, he grabbed the bag of credits.

They backed away to where Mulan still lay, panting.  Emma kept her gun training on Teach as Killian reached down.  “All right?”

“Armor’s dented.”  Mulan took his hand and let him haul her to her feet. 

“Looks like you were right.”  The three of them kept moving backwards until Teach was out of sight, still struggling under the wounded horse.  Then they started jogging back to the mule.

“Kind of you to say, Captain.”  Mulan’s sarcasm was thick.

“Aye, well, don’t let it go to your head.”  He paused as both the ladies climbed on.  “Anton, nice shooting.”

“Thanks, boss.”  The big man was in his ear quickly.  “Rally point?”

“Aye.”  With that, he kicked the mule into gear and took off.

*****

Ruby sat up a little on her operating space turned bed, letting Henry read to her from some book of fairy tales.  The kid defined cute, and she didn’t mine his company.  Archie had left to go feed the prisoners, and Victor, she knew, waited on the bridge for the Captain’s call to prepare for lift off.

Henry stood, putting the book down.  “I’m going to go get a drink, okay?  I’ll be right back.”

She smiled at him as he started out the door, then gasped as an arm snaked around him, a gun pressed to his head, a second pointing in at Ruby.    

Zelena West grinned ferally at her.  “Don’t utter a sound, dearie, or the next one goes through your throat.”

Henry looked scared, but he starred Ruby in the eye.  “It’ll be okay, Ruby.  Do what she says.”

She watched as the woman dragged Henry down the hall, then forced herself up and over the edge of the bed.  Her stitches pulled and liquid fire burned across the skin of her stomach.  Gasping, she moved shakily toward the door.

Just then, she saw Archie stumbling toward her, blood dripping down his face from a gash on his forehead.  “She took him.  She took Henry.”

Archie nodded grimly, then staggered off down the hall.  Ruby continued forward, pressing the com button for the bridge.  “Victor…Zelena’s out.  She took Henry.  Tell the Captain.”  Then she sank down to the floor, breathing through the pain.

Down in the hold, Henry struggled slightly against Zelena’s hold, trying to find an opening.  “Stop squirming, you little brat.  Or we’ll kill Dr. Hopper before we go.”

Sidney Glass moved out from behind some boxes.  “I’ve got the satchels, let’s go.”

“My mom will find me.  My real mom.”  Henry tried to sound assured.

“You’re birth mom is probably dead at Teach’s hand, little boy.”  Sidney grinned.  “Now, be a good kid and come on.  We have a hike coming.”

*******

As Anton climbed aboard the mule, Killian startled to hear Victor’s voice in his ear.  “Captain, our unwanteds overpowered Hopper.  They’re out and they’ve got the boy.”

“Bloody hell.”  Reaching down, he threw the speed into high, zipping across the plain.

“Are you crazy, Killian?”  Mulan’s voice cut through the wind.  “We’re going too fast.”

“Our guests are loose.”  His voice was hard and angry.  “They’ve taken Henry.”

“No.”  He could hear Emma’s horror behind him.  Pushing the thrusts, he sped up more.

The mule creaked and groaned as it skidded to a stop as all four of them jumped out.

From inside the hold, they could hear Archie, pleading.  “Please, you don’t know what she’ll do to the boy.”

“We have a job to do, Doctor.”  He could hear Zelena’s voice now.  “And we aren’t fooling around, so get out of…”

Emma passed him, charging up the hatch with her gun out.  With no warning, she fired, dropping Zelena like a stone.  Henry jerked away, running to Archie as she pointed her gun at Sidney.  “Get off the goddamn ship, and I let you live.  Or join her.  Up to you.”

Sidney ran out the hatch.  Killian watched her in awe as she holstered the gun and walked to the boy.  “Are you hurt?”

“No.”  Henry’s eyes looked at her, wide and bright.  “You saved me.”

Killian turned.  “Mulan, Anton, clear that from my hold.”  He pointed in the direction of Zelena’s body.  The two nodded and moved, picking up the dead weight and walking to the edge of the hatch, tossing it off.  He strode over and hit the com.  “Victor, get us in the air.”

The bay hatch closed as he moved over to the remaining three of them.  “All right, Swan?”

“Yes.”  Her words were hard and tight, and concerned him immensely, but now was not the time.  “Doctor, let’s get to the infirmary and check on Ruby, then patch ourselves up, aye?”

Henry let go of Archie’s hand, grabbing Emma’s.  She nodded at him, then led the boy up to galley.  Watching them go, he felt a tightening in his chest that felt a little bit like hope.  Shaking his head, Killian turned and pull the doctor toward the med bay.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I was not feeling great yesterday (messed up migraine meds plus tornado category storms...not great on the head). Thanks for reading so far. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Emma sat Henry down at the table with her personal tablet queued to an old movie from Earth the Was, giving him a tight smile.  Then she turned and rummaged through the cabinets, pulling together the ingredients for a simple stew.  It wasn’t much, but with Ruby down, she figured someone should make everyone a hot meal.

She found herself glancing over periodically as she chopped root vegetables when Henry would laugh at the antics of Fezzik and Vizzini, or gasp at the ROUS.  Centuries old, the film remained a classic, and one she had loved in her own childhood.  Was this what life would have been like if she’d made a different choice?  But she knew it was foolish to think that way.  She had been in absolutely no condition to take care of a baby when she had Henry.  They would have likely ended up starving to death or indentured to slavers.  Or worse.

She brought her attention back, using some oil to sauté the vegetables, then opening a can of chicken, dumping it into the pot.  It began to smell like food, and she felt grateful that she could manage this much.  She turned back around, digging through the cupboard until she came across the hodgepodge of bowls they had used the night before (it felt like years), setting them up on the counter and then going in search of spoons. 

“Third drawer on the left, love.”  She jumped slightly at Killian’s voice.  She hadn’t expected him to be back so soon.  “Sorry, Swan.”

“It’s fine.”  She pulled the drawer open and did a quick head count, then pulled out seven.  She pushed the drawer shut with her hip.  “Is Ruby okay?”

“She pulled one stitch, but the good Doctor has her all sewn up.  Patched me up too.”  He waved the arm with the hook, where she could see the tear in his shirt and the white of a bandage underneath.  “Afraid he was left with my skill, though.  Luckily, I am quite the expert at butterfly bandages.”

He smiled at her, then walked over, handing Henry an old book, with a faded red leather cover.  “Ruby asked me to bring you this, lad.  Seemed to think you might miss it.”

“Thanks, Captain!”  Henry smiled at him widely.  “I’m going to put this in my bunk, then wash up for dinner, okay?”

“Sure, kid.”  Emma watched him go, closing her eyes for a moment.  He had taken everything in the hold extremely well, seeming to bounce back to his happy self once he was assured everyone was okay.  She knew kids were resilient, but her kid.  Just, damn.

“He’s a strong one, your lad.  He’ll be all right.”  Killian moved nearly silently, coming to stand next to her before she opened her eyes.  “Are you all right, Swan?”

“Fine.”  She kept her mouth in a grim line.  The man next to her already seemed far too good at reading her.  She didn’t need to help him along.

“Really, lass?”  He held out something to her, and she laughed brittlely when she realized it was a flask.  “Pirate.”

“Right.”  Emma took it from him, pulling loose the stopper and taking a quick slug.  The rum burned fiery and warm down to her stomach, making her feel instantly a little looser.

“I ask, Emma.”  He paused to phrase his words, contemplating for a long moment.  It was long enough that she felt nervous, shifting back toward the stove to give the stew another stir.  Wouldn’t do to burn it and waste food.  “I ask, Emma, because you stopped me from shooting Teach today, though we both know he very richly deserved it.”

“It’s different.  Teach was down.  That…woman had Henry.  She was going to hurt him”   She looked sideways at him.  “I did what I had to.”

“Not arguing that, love.”  He reached out and laid a hand softly on her arm.  “But I suspect that you probably value human life more highly than I do.”

“Bullshit.”  Emma turned to look at him.  “Teach is a monster, but those others.  You weren’t shooting to kill.  You aren’t a villain, Killian.”

He paused, starring at her, wide eyed.

“And that wasn’t the first person I killed.”  She squeezed his hand before pulling away.  “So don’t worry about me.  Go get the others rounded up for dinner.”

*****

Regina sat in her office, going over figures on the ventures of Mills Interglobal when the video com came on.  A dirty and battered looking Sidney Glass filled the screen.  Regina felt a jolt of panic go through her. “What the hell happened?”

 “We…we lost them.”  The man seemed terrified.  “They boarded a cargo hauler and we were able to get a message out, but the crew overpowered us and…Zelena’s in the hospital here on Queen Anne, in critical condition.”

“How the fuck did that happen?”  Regina was livid, absolutely livid.  “Where are they?”

“They took off.  I had a notebook with the crew’s names and the ship registration, but they took it from us when they locked us up.”  Sidney grimaced at the look on Regina’s face.  “I remember one name, though.  There was a bounty hunter along.  She’s the one who shot Zelena.”

“What was her name?”  Regina was already calling up the cortex on her touch screen and entering the Alliance credentials that gave her special access.

“Swan.  Emma Swan.”  Sidney glanced off to the side at someone, then back.  “What do you want us to do?”

“I’ll send someone to get you.  Wait there.”

“But…”  Regina cut the feed before he could continue.  Starring back at her from the cortex was a life record.  Emma Swan, no middle name.  Bounty Hunter license questionable and open for investigation.  She mainly took private contracts, no Alliance work.  The Regina saw the note on her medical records.  Gave birth at Boros in the Med-Center of an Alliance Workhouse, where she was serving an 18 month sentence for a theft she had been an accomplice on from a high end jewelry store on Beaumonde. 

She sat back heavily.  The dates lined up.  But it didn’t make any sense.  He had sworn that the baby had come from a core world girl of good breeding, one who had gotten herself in trouble with an Alliance officer who was killed in the early days of the War.  Henry was supposed to be from the best stock, her little prince.  Not the bastard by-blow of a common thief.

Glancing back down, the next thing she saw made her blood run cold.  Emma Swan had grown up a ward of the government on Persephone.  In and out of countless homes, all because she had been found at three days old, give or take, in an alley next to the body of a woman called Johanna Wärter.  A dead woman of no seeming consequence from…

“It can’t be possible.”  Suddenly, Regina slammed her hand down, nearly cracking the cortex screen.  “THAT SON OF A BITCH.”

******

Victor took them the scenic route back around to Persephone.  Killian had already divided the take up between Badger’s cut (minus Emma’s percentage), and his crew, taking the expenses from the top and then dividing the rest five ways.  He didn’t look forward to dealing with the man again, but the sooner he did, the sooner they could get off this accursed world and away from him.

Emma, dressed in what he had come of think of as her battle armor, walked with him, dark glasses on her face and a loose scarf covering her hair.  They had no idea what may have happened to Sidney after they dumped him, but in case they were on the cortex wanted list (well, more than usual), they were being discrete.  His trademark duster had been left for a black leather jacket, and his fake hand in a leather glove replaced the hoot.  He wore a hat that shielded his eyes.

Entering The Den, they made their way to the back, Killian eyeing the enforcer on the door until he buzzed them in.  Badger once again lounged at his desk, though sans company this time, thank God.  “Well, well, well.  I was just starting to ponder if you two had eloped with my take.”

“Deals a deal, Badger.”  Killian pulled out the money bag.  “I already paid Emma her cut.”

The man dumped it out, counting the money slowly in front of them.  After an eon, he looked up.  “Well, it’s a pleasure doing business, Captain.  I’ll keep you in mind in the future.”  Then he turned to Emma.  “And for you, love, here’s your file.”

Emma’s movements were controlled, but Killian could sense her urge to rip the folder out of his hands.  Instead, she calming reached out and took hold of the file.  At the last minute, Badger held on, and Killian fought the urge to lunge at the man and strangle him with his stupid necktie.

“Word of the wise, this job wasn’t clean.”  Badger grinned at them, wide and toothy.  “As a…professional courtesy, I’ve not turned you in to the constabulary.  No promises in the future, yeah?”  With that, he let go.

“Never a pleasure, Badger.”  Killian growled.  He reached out and grabbed Emma’s arm.  “Come on, Swan.”

They ducked out the door and out of the den, looping the block a couple of time and reversing before heading back to the ship.  He knew that Mulan and Victor were out on the 4 wheeler, gathering supplies while Anton watched the ship.

Emma grumbled under her breath, a very colorful curse about shitting on Badger’s mother’s beard.  Killian actually laughed a little, which earned him a look of ire.  “This isn’t funny.”

At that, he sobered.  “No, lass, it isn’t.”  He thought back to the conversation he’d had with Mulan after dinner the night before.

****

His second had gone to the armory, and he’d found her with the body armor she’d worn in the gunfight slung over an anvil, pounding the dent from the titanium out with a hammer.  Not for the first time, he considered how very glad he was she’d been on his side in the war.  “That could keep.”

“Not after this job.”  Mulan looked up at him, eyes grim.  “How burned are we?”

Killian sighed hard and dropped onto the bench across from her.  “We have a fair stash of falsified ships papers and fake IDs for the crew that haven’t been in the system.  If we stick to the rim and border planets for a while, we should do all right.”

“And what’s Emma’s plan now?”  Mulan finished the repair, and turned, hanging the flak vest back up with the others.  She turned to find Killian holding an old Alliance insignia token, spinning it on the table.  “Oh no.  That isn’t a good idea.”

“Come on, Mulan.  You know as well as I do that their best chance of not getting nicked is to keep moving.”  Killian paused, glancing around the room.  “She’s a killer shot, cool under fire.  We could use her.  The Doctor too.  He did a good job patching Ruby up.  And me.”

“Hopper got her shot in the first place. Mulan dropped into her seat.  “And a kid on a smuggler ship?  What kind of life is that?”

He considered his next words carefully.  “The boy said…he said his adopted mother did something to a planet.  Something terrible.  What if…”

“You want to see if they can get you evidence for what happened to your brother?”  Mulan was solemn suddenly.  “It’s a long shot.”

“Well, it’s bloody well more possible than trying myself.  Unless you fancy a flight through the heaviest Reaver infestation in the verse.”  He stood to go, then turned.  “If they stay, would you leave?”

“You’re an idiot to ask.”  She reached for her mare’s leg and a gun cleaning kit.  “I just hope I don’t have to say I told you so.”

****

Killian came back to himself as the ducked through the spice bazaar, stopping to make the occasional purchase.  Emma took the opportunity, he noted, to restock her cocoa powder mixture and cinnamon.  Occasionally, she glanced at him, curious.  Finally, when they were at the edge of the bazaar, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into a tea house.

Ordering a pot of oolong, he found them a secluded booth with a view of the door.  “Pretend we’re lovers, lass.”

Emma briefly raised an eyebrow, but something in his gaze must have given her pause.  It was like a switch flipped.  She leaned forward over the table, her hand caressing his arm, laughing sweetly.  The look of adoration on her face was good enough for anyone who couldn’t see her eyes.  In them lay fear.

“Look, lass, I think we’re safe for now, but you need to be thinking about what you’ll do.”  His own smile was bright and charming and he stretched a leg out under the table, stroking her calf with his boot.  “The boy is hunted and chances are, you will be as well.”

“I’ve managed before.”  Emma batted her eyes at him as she took a sip of her tea.  Killian nodded and laughed as if she had said something funny.

“Aye, but not with a child.  And the Doctor, unless you plan to dump him.  Which is, admittedly not a bad plan.”  He reached up, caressing her cheek.  This time, the intake of breath was real, and he could see a slight flush at her chest.

“No.  Archie saved Henry.  I owe him.”  She drew one finger down his chest, playing with the necklace he wore.  His own breath caught at that.  Score one all, then.

“Look, lass.  We’re always on the move.  I have contacts who do top notch fake identity papers.”  He reached for her hand, squeezing it.  The look he gave her was genuine, and he saw her eyes widen slightly.  “We may be rogues and thieves, but we have honor.  You’d be safe with us.”

“And you’d just do it out of the kindness of your heart?”  Emma smiled sweetly at him.  “What’s in it for you?”

“You’d be crew, lass.  Help on jobs.  Help the doctor patch us up, if needed.”  He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to it. “It would give you and the lad a home.  Least until you found a better.”

Emma looked at him with wide-eyed wonder, and this time, he thought the look genuine.  “Why?”

“It’s the right thing to do.”  He squeezed her hand again.  “Try something new, darling.  It’s called trust.”

She starred down at their joined hands for a long moment, and he wondered if he had misread her terribly.  Then she looked back up to him.  “Okay.  We’re in.  For now.”

“Welcome aboard, lass.”  And he leaned forward, kissing her quickly.  When he pulled back, she looked shocked.  “Keeping up the cover, lass.  Keeping up the cover.”  He drew her to stand, and together they headed back to the ship.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the long delay. I've had a combo of work being busy, life being busy, migraines being frequent, and my muse wanting to really work on the other thing that will never see the light of day, likely. 
> 
> Hopefully, I will be getting back to a regular posting schedule.

Killian wasn’t sure if he should be surprised or not by how seamlessly Emma and her boy and the doctor fit into his crew.  He expected there to be some friction, toes stepped on and feelings hurt.  Instead, it was like the three of them had always been there.  He thought Henry probably had the most to do with it.  The lad was kind to a fault, open and warm and loving, and he had clearly never met a stranger.  He’d find the lad all over the ship when he wasn’t with Doctor Hopper, working on lessons.  There would be a small pair of legs next to Ruby’s sticking out from under the engine.  Or he’d be on the bridge with Victor, learning the means of navigating the _Jolly._   Sometimes he’d find the lad roping Emma and Anton and Mulan into a ball game in the cargo bay.  And sometimes, the boy would find him, asking him to should him how to knife fight with the wooden wasters that Anton had carved him.

Emma remained quiet and reserved with him, especially after his stunt kiss back on Persephone.  It had been, perhaps, a step too far, but he couldn’t quite help himself.  And now, if anything, he appreciated the distance.  Every night, he sat in his bunk and starred at the holographic picture of Milah lying on his (their) bed.  Her deep, come hither look, her smile.  The way her body moved like a cat.  It still hurt, the wound in his heart where she had been ripped from him open and gaping.  She had soothed him, made him feel alive for the first time since he had lost Liam, lost his hand, and lost his faith.  Before, he would have set down the picture and picked up his flask, but he found he needed rum less and less to dull the pain of their ending.

He wasn’t sure yet how Emma fit into his larger picture.  She was beautiful, to be sure.  Completely different from Milah, like the difference between two different stars.  She was strong, and fiery and headstrong, and he had no doubt that if none of this had ever entered her life, she’d have gone on with it just fine.  Hunting bounties, transient, until it either killed her in the end, or she retired.  He had heard her telling Archie one night after dinner about dreaming of a small house on some quiet world, maybe by a sea.  What he was feeling for her though, was a muddle.  Sympathy, clearly.  Protective.  Fond.  He rather liked her, when she wasn’t yelling at him.  But he had been down that road before, and that way lay madness.

So Emma remained present but out of his way.  She had agreed to let Henry keep his own room in the crew dorms near Doctor Hopper.  She had originally offered to move out of the shuttle and down below, but Killian had pointed out that they rarely used the shuttles for anything, it was just as easy for her to stay where she was.  Now, he’d run across her from time to time, helping Mulan in the armory or cooking with Ruby (the two of them seemed to bond instantly, which made him happy-Ruby needed a friend).  Often, she’d excuse herself as soon as was practical and disappear until she was needed.

They had taken a few very small jobs, mostly rim world to rim world transports or small smuggling gigs.  For now, he felt that it was best to let the heat die down before they considered pulling any kind of bigger job.  And he was…content, with that.  In a way that surprised him more.  He hadn’t particularly felt like anything was missing before, but now…it was like his _Jolly_ girl had found her rhythm.  He just worried what would happen when Emma decided it was safe enough to part ways.  That thought more than anything had him reaching for his supply of rum, deep in the night.

*****

The cortex flared with the video call as Regina sat at her desk.  “Well, well, well dearie, it has been years.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Rumple Stiltskinski, known as Mr. Gold, seemed to own half the Universe.  It was nebulous how he managed it, since he was technically persona non grata with the Alliance, but he always managed to keep all his enterprises running with brutal and ruthless efficiency that had earned him the nickname of the Dark One in some circles.  While Regina preferred to deal directly with the Alliance (they had been oh so very good to her, after all), sometimes, when things needed doing, one had to look outside of the standard channels.

Now though, what she felt for this man was rage.  “You violated our deal!”

Gold smirked at her through the com link, using a small, elegant ivory handled dagger to clean his fingernails.  “And what deal might that be, dearie?  We’ve done a number of them over the years, as you well know.”

“You were supposed to find me a child of excellent breeding.”  She was seething now.  “I know what you did!”

“And what exactly was that?”  He smiled now, like the spider to the fly.  “I found you a boy born of a princess, the heiress to a mighty kingdom, who would be on a throne now if not for the machinations of an evil queen.”

“Spare me.”  She bit the words out, rage making her want to rip him apart.  “You know who I meant when I came to you.”

“Ah, but Royal blood is so much better than the by-blow of some core world industrialist’s promiscuous brat, don’t you think.”  He twirled the dagger now, the flash of the light almost mesmerizing.  “After all, you were practically related all ready.”

“You shouldn’t know her realm exists.”  Regina’s voice is deadly cold.  “Such knowledge could bring the wrath of the whole Alliance down upon you.”

“They can certainly try, dearie.  But then again, do you really think I’ve managed this long without some…let’s call it leverage.”  He seemed so pleased with himself, the imp.  “And really, dearie, you wanted a child.  I got you a child.  One who is smart and resourceful and charming by all accounts.”

“And missing.”  She growled the word.  “And you are going to help me find him.  And his bitch of a mother.  She should be dead.  I paid good money for her to be dead all those years ago.”

“Then you paid it to the wrong person.”  Gold sat back, dropping the knife to stick in the surface of his desk.  “I tell you what, dearie.  I would prefer you be satisfied with our deal.  I don’t need the extra Alliance attention.  So I am going to see what I can find out about your brat and his birth mother.  But you will owe me.”

“Fine.”  Regina sat back, staring at him.  “You deliver, and you get one favor, carte blanche.”

The imp of a man giggled.  “Pleasure doing business, dearie.”  And with that, the com closed.  Regina remained at her desk, feeling disgusting. 

Pushing a call button, she waited until a young woman opened the door.  “You rang, madam?”

“Draw me a hot bath, immediately.”  The girl nodded and Regina stood to head to her rooms and disrobe.  Time to wash the ickor of talking to the hobgoblin off of herself.

******

Emma hadn’t expected it to be so easy.  She had been alone for so long, so used to having no one to talk to, no one to depend on, and no one depending on her, she thought that this life would be harder.  Awkward. Belonging somewhere, to something, was an alien concept.

But Henry…Henry slotted into her life like he had always been there.  The fear and joy and the love she felt for him…god, the love.  She had never loved anything in her life the way she found herself loving this small boy.  He was joyful and kind and smart…so damn smart.  And she felt a fierce need to protect him.  Beyond shooting Zelena West with no hesitation, she found herself initially terrified, trying to think how she could possibly find them somewhere to hide that would keep them safe, particularly if she couldn’t use her skills to keep them afloat.

When Killian had made his offer to her in the crappy little back alley tea shop on Persephone, while they were sipping some truly awful oolong, she had been both grateful and afraid.  Grateful because he was right, staying moving was going to be the safest way to keep Henry (and Archie, whom she realized was part of the package) away from the authorities.  And it wasn’t as if she could have just hired them on to any other vessel.  Most crews like this would tell you that a ship was no place for a child.

And afraid.  Afraid of letting this man any farther into her life.  Afraid of whether this whole thing was some elaborate ruse for him to profit from turning them over (and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that it isn’t).  Killian Jones read her better than anyone had in a number of years, seemed to see her in ways she was no longer accustomed to.  And the way that made her feel seemed the most terrifying of all.

However, Henry loved him.  His face lit up around Killian, and he’d get the man to tell him all kinds of stories about smuggling and adventures and daring escapes.  It probably wasn’t what she should be excited about someone teaching her son (Archie was handling the more standard curriculum using free resources from the cortex for math and history and language arts), but the joy on his face made her heart contract painfully.  And the look on Killian’s…he seemed more at peace when he and the boy sat together, sharing stories.

It was more than just Killian, though.  She found a friend in Ruby.  The girl got under her skin before she had time to think, and now they were nearly inseparable.   Ruby thrilled to having someone to cook with and gossip with and share clothing and make-up tips with.  For as much as she was frequently covered in grease and oil from keeping their ship in the air, at heart, the lady was a girly-girl.  The only thing that was hard for Emma was hearing about her happiness with Victor.  She didn’t know the whole story, but the two of them complimented each other, providing whatever the other lacked.  It made her wistful for a time she thought she’d found that.

Anton had turned out to be a gentle giant of a man.  She had been surprised when she had stopped by his quarters to ask a question, and been overwhelmed by the small jungle inside.  Hydroponic self-contained units let him grow all kinds of things, and he happily told her about all of them.  In fact, by the time she’d left, she couldn’t remember what she had meant to ask him in the first place.  And he was always happy to play with Henry, using an improvised net in the cargo hold for games of kickball.

Even Mulan seemed to warm to them.  Emma had sensed the woman disapproved of Killian’s plan to keep them on board.  However, her loyalty to the Captain meant she said nothing.  And as it became apparent that she was useful both on jobs, and in helping keep the armory in working order, Mulan became friendlier.  Emma never questioned where her ultimate loyalty lay, but the longer they remained aboard, the more she felt like she and Henry, and even Archie, had earned their place with her, and by extension, a level of protection and loyalty.

Tonight though, Emma couldn’t sleep.  A conversation with Henry had rattled her earlier, and she couldn’t clear her mind.  She had been tossing and turning for two hours, and finally, she’d given up and headed out to the galley.  She’d been only slightly surprised to find Killian sitting at the table with a cup of tea and a dog-eared copy a Horatio Hornblower novel.

She started to turn and go back to the shuttle, but his voice stopped her.  “Kettle’s still hot, love.”

Emma looked back at him, then sighed, taking her little box of cocoa mix and checking the water.  It was still scalding, so she grabbed a mug and set to making a cup.  Killian watched her for a moment, then went back to his book, clearly trying to give her space.  When the majority of the chunks had dissolved in the hot water, so dug around in one of the high cabinets and pulled down the tin of cookies that Ruby had baked with Henry a few days before.  She put two of them on one of the jumble sale plates they all used, and stuck the tin back. 

The seat she chose was near him, but not too near.  She silently took one cookie, then pushed the other toward him, keeping her eyes on her drink as she watched the slight white froth spin round and round.  She bit into the cookie, tasting the subtle spices and smiling sadly.  It reminded her of Sarah’s baking back on Persephone.

“Thank you, Swan.”  Killian’s voice was still soft, and when she looked up, he’d set the book down on the table, looking at her again.  “Talking may drive the ghosts away, lass.”

“You first.”  It was a harsh shot, and she didn’t actually mean to say it, but she needed to keep him firmly beyond her walls.

The shock played on her face when he gave a rueful chuckle.  He nodded to the old paperback.  “That belonged to Liam.  My brother.  He was the man in the picture with me you saw back the first night you were aboard.”  He let his fingers run over the worn cover.  “Sometimes, when I miss him, I reread it and remember him reading it aloud to me when we were boys.”

“What happened to him?”  What was wrong with her?  Why did things like that just fall out of her mouth around him?  It was part of the reason why she had been avoiding him since their meeting with Badger.

“We were Alliance officers once upon a time.  They sent us on a…well, it was likely a suicide mission.”  He looked down again, long fingers running over the spine.  “He died.  I…didn’t.”

“I’m sorry.”  She made herself make full eye contact.  “Truly.”

“It was a long time ago, Swan.”  He took a deep sip of his tea.  “So, there is that.”

“Henry asked me about his father today.”  Emma closed her eyes for a long moment, remembering his bright, hopeful face. “I lied to him.”

“How so, Swan?”  She opened her eyes again to find Killian looking at her, no judgment on his face.  He simply looked curious.

“I told him his father was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and died saving some people from a fire.”  She sighed, and looked down, taking a sip of her cocoa.  “That’s pretty far from the truth.”

He didn’t say anything, just stood and walked over, coming back with two more cookies.  He held on to one, and put the other on a plate, sliding it over to her.

Emma hadn’t really told this story, but suddenly, she wanted to.  She wanted someone to know what had happened.  “I met him…Neal.  I met Neal when I was not quite 18.  I had run away from Persephone, and I was working as a cleaning woman for a crew on a cargo hauler.  When we’d hit planet side, I’d do a little pickpocketing to supplement what little I made after the Captain took food and board out of my wages.  Neal caught me picking his pocket right after he had picked someone else’s.”

She paused and took a long sip of her rapidly cooling drink.  Killian still didn’t say anything, just listened to her.  And she was immensely grateful for that.  It made it easier.

“He…he wanted me.  And the way I’d grown up, no one had ever wanted me before.  So I stayed with him, and we would do jobs and live off the profits, and we’d dream of finding some nice, out of the way planet to settle on and go straight.”  She paused for breath, and realized he had moved his hand to hers, rubbing soothing circles across the top with his thumb.  “Neal had done this job, a little before I met him.  He’d hit this high end jewelry store on Beaumonde and stole these watches.  He said if we sold them, we’d have enough to go somewhere and start over.  We just needed to get them.”

Killian’s jaw tightened, but he still didn’t comment.  Somehow, she suspected he’d figured things out from there.  She kept talking anyway.

“I said I’d get them, since they weren’t looking for me.  So I grabbed them, and gave them to him, and he put this lady’s watch on my wrist, said it was a reminder of how far we’d come.  He left to fence them and said to meet him at the spaceport that night.”  She took another gulp of her drink, now cold and slightly congealed.  The act of swallowing it kept the urge to cry at bay.  “Only…the only people waiting for me were the Alliance.  I thought it was an accident at first, so I wouldn’t name him.  Not even when they sent me to the workhouse on Boros.  Or when I realized….”

“You were with child?”  It was the first time he’d spoken since she began, and the sympathy in his voice nearly undid her. 

“Yeah.  And I had nothing…I couldn’t be a mother.  I never even had one myself.”  She paused.  “I…I asked the matron to put me in touch with an agency, because I wanted him to have a better chance than I did.”

“You did the right thing, then, love.”  He said it softly.

“Did I?”  She closed her eyes again.  “He ended up with this person who should have loved him, and apparently didn’t…or is evil…or…”

“You did the best you could for him at the time, Swan.  That is being a mother.”  He squeezed her hand, then let go.  “And you did the best you knew how today.  You’re secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you.”  She smiled at him, and noticed how his eyes lit up in response.  This dance between them held so much danger, and she knew she should run.  But she just couldn’t quite manage it.

He stood, holding his empty cup.  “That’s probably enough midnight confessions for one eve, I think.  Try to get some sleep, Swan.  I need you sharp for this meeting on Whitehall tomorrow.”

She nodded.  “Good night, Killian.”

He gave her one more soft, devastating smile.  “Good night, Emma.”  Then he slipped away, back to the crew quarters.  Emma rose, rinsing her own mug.  It was time to try for more sleep.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, we're back. Thanks for waiting and for reading.
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at theadventureofhistorygirl

The job on Whitehall had been surprisingly easy, and had been followed by others on rim planets.  It had been almost three months and so far, nothing had blown up.  No Alliance waiting for them, no one questioning their identities.  Killian had even taken them back to Ruby’s home world, where Granny had spoiled all of them rotten and doted on Henry, making him this warm knit scarf and letting him have as many ice planets as he wanted.

Emma was surprised by how relaxed Killian seemed to be there.  The small town clearly worshipped Granny as some kind of minor deity, and they were all under her protection.  Killian encouraged Archie and Henry to explore openly, often going with them and bringing her along.  They had rented some horses and gone riding.  There were shops in town, mostly of general mercantile goods, but also a few clothing stores and a candy shop.  She delighted in watching Henry’s eyes grow wide at the old fashioned taffy machine, and she found herself smiling more, and widely. 

Since the night in galley and their quiet shared confessions, she’d felt more comfortable around the Captain. They still didn’t talk much, but now, from time to time, they’d coexist quietly and easily.  There were days when Ruby was busy with some repair and he’d take her place with Emma in the galley, helping cook the big meal of the day.  She’d been a little surprised at his range, and he’d just said, “My mother loved cooking.”

She watched him now, when he wasn’t looking.  With Ruby and Victor and the wistful look he hid behind snark at how saccharine sweet they are.  With Mulan and the silent communication they seemed to share, the trust.  With Anton, who remained wary of most people (she knew now, about his family), but not with Killian (or, for that matter, Henry).  She watched the truce he and Archie had formed as the ginger haired man cleans up a cut from a slight dust up on their last job.

And she watched him with Henry.  Henry, who was all things bright and wonderful, and in those moments, she thought she sees the man in the middle picture.  The one who looked young and carefree, his arm around his brother, his smile and eyes bright.  He was open with Henry in a way he rarely is with anyone, joyous and laughing and he makes her son smile.  Part of her worried what would happen when the heat was truly off.  If one day they decided to leave and put down roots.  Henry would be hurt to lose his friend Hook…and maybe he wouldn’t be the only one.

******

Anyone or anything in the Universe could be had for a price.  That was a lesson that he had learned long ago, and it had served Rumple in good form for a number of years.  Find a weakness, find a need, and you could make a deal.  The trick, ultimately, was to twist the deal to your advantage.  After all, people generally came to him wanting things that practically took magic, and magic always came at a price.

If anything surprised him about trying to track down Regina Mills’ missing son, it was how long it took him.  It had started with sending someone to interview her underlings.  West was still in a coma from the shot to the head, though she was miraculously expected to survive.  Glass, meanwhile, had been all but worthless.  For being one of the Queen’s intelligence men, as he thought of Mills, the man’s mind leaked like a sieve if he wasn’t writing the details down.  And the ship he had been forced to flee had taken off with the idiot’s little moleskin notebook onboard.  All he had been able to learn from him was that the ship was a transport class, perhaps a Trans-U or maybe a Firefly class.

From there, he went back to his own files.  Emma Swan had come onto his radar quite by accident when she had been picked up with the watch from his little jeweler’s establishment on Beaumonde (well, his once you unraveled the nine or ten shell corporations involved).  He remembered when his pet Alliance agent had forwarded him her file that she was pretty in a way that belied her background and circumstances.  The heist had been of interest to him because the level of damage had made him believe…well. 

Emma Swan had steadfastly refused to name her accomplice at the time, which had been intriguing.  As she was sent off to serve her time on Boros, he had his men look into her, and had found her most intriguing origin story.  So, when she came up pregnant and the Queen came up suddenly desirous of a child, it had been ever so easy to manipulate the system. 

Admittedly, his interest had waned after that deal was done.  Swan finished her sentence and stumbled before finding her way into the Universe’s underworld, and he had no call for her skills then.  But he did still have her file.

They called William Smee Mr. Universe because he was a broker of information and access, and while he personally found him to be a distasteful little rat of a man, he was delightfully easy to manipulate.  Some credits, and some tech towards his obnoxious little robot plaything, and the man could do the most interesting thing with vid-feeds.  He had sent him a picture of the woman in question, and within a short time, he had back a file of shot of her.  She showed up on a number of worlds, caught by security cameras in savory and unsavory places.  Usually she was alone, but in a number the boy was with her, or the man who Mills suspected of getting her son out.

And then, intriguingly, there was another man.  He seemed more adept of avoiding the camera, suggesting that he had perhaps had a longer and much more nefarious career than the lady in question.  Always the shots seemed to catch the back of his head, or he was wearing a hat, or oversized glasses.  Once a ridiculous hoodie that looked like a knight’s armor.  Never his face.  It did him no good to see where Swan had been if he didn’t have shots of her ship (and there were none) or her other companion.

Then, in the last shot, a lucky break.  Swan was glancing at the man’s face, and again, his face was away from the camera.  But they were on a world with…rustic architecture, and behind the lady’s shoulder was plate glass window.  And in that window was the face of a man that he hated with the fiery passion of Earth that Was’ old, dying sun.  The pirate who had stolen Milah out from under him.  He knew he should have killed the bastard when he had the chance. 

Now, this was going to be fun.  He’d get the Queen back her little prince, and a Swan to roast at the same time.  And he’d finally do in Captain Killian Jones once and for all.  It truly was lovely when he could mix business with pleasure.

*****

Killian wasn’t a fan of Boros.  The world was too crowded, being one of the earliest terraformed planets, and it had a very, very high Alliance population.  In fact, he would have preferred to avoid Boros altogether.  Especially with the recent additions to his crew.  Say what you want about him, he might be a thief and a pirate, but he had a code.  Good form had been a religion to Liam, and while he might not believe in God anymore, he did believe deeply in his brother’s memory.  And good form dictated safety for Archie, certainly, and for Henry and Emma above all. 

However, he had been approached through a reliable source, his old friend Tink, about a small job smuggling bootleg wormwood alcohol.  It was ridiculous how well it paid, but then again, the youth on planets like Boros tended to be bored, with too much money and not enough sense not to drink things that could make them go blind.  He had discussed it with Emma, and with Mulan, and the three of them had decided it was too good of an offer to pass up.

So here he and Emma were, sitting in a bar, waiting on their buyer, a man Tink had called Cass, who would give them the logistics for the exchange.  Apparently, if all went well, this could be a regular thing.  Emma had a whiskey neat in front of her that she sipped intermittently, her eyes on the back door.  His own back was to the wall, his gaze forward, something purporting to be rum in his glass.  He’d brought a set of liar’s dice, but neither of them were focused on the game.  Bloody arsehole of a client was supposed to be here half an hour ago.  He was inclined to give it another thirty minutes before heading back to the ship and messaging Tink…

“Sonofabitch.”  The words were said with infinite softness, but the look on Emma’s face was suddenly granite and fury.  He turned to see a man he recognized from pictures and stories and son of a bitch indeed.

Messy brown hair above a scarf and black coat created a frame for the look of shock and mild horror on the man’s face.  “Oh, shit.”  And then the man turned and bolted.  And Emma tore off after him.

“Bloody hell.”  Killian threw some credits on the table, scooped up the liar’s dice, and took off after them out the back door.  He came out in time to see the red of Emma’s coat and a flash of blonde hair fly around the corner of the alley.  Running hard, he hoped that either this man was their contact, or perhaps their contact had truly no-showed.

“Goddamnit, Emma!”  The angry voice from around the next corner in the warren of narrow streets and alleys made him push harder.  He turned into the dead end to find Emma standing over the top of the man, who was rubbing the arm he apparently landed on when she tripped him.

“Swan, you all right?”  He moved to stand next to her where she glowered down at the man, breathing hard.  “

“Yes.”  She spared him a glance, and he could see the ridiculous pain radiating in her eyes.  “Meet Neal Cassidy.  I assume he’s the Cass your friend was talking about.”

“You’re Tink’s smuggler contact?” The man made to stand, and Emma looked like she was considering kicking the shit out of him.  “I didn’t know, Em.”

“Don’t you dare call me that.” She was seething.  “You fucking left me to get made by the Alliance, and like an idiot, I kept my mouth shut.  They put me in the workhouse, Neal.”

“Neal?”  He looked at the man and suddenly, it clicked, the realization horrifying.  “This is…”  Emma’s elbow connected with his side and he quieted.

“And who the hell is this guy?  Seems like you’re doing fine without me, Emma.”  Neal’s voice was biting.

“He’s my partner.”  It wasn’t a lie, certainly, though it was news to him that she saw him that way.  He couldn’t decide if he should look pleased or not.  “So, set yourself up pretty good with the rest of those watches then?  To have the money to play smugglers like us for your nasty alcohol.”

“I’m just the middle man.”  Neal rose, dusting himself off.  “Although I have half a mind to take my business elsewhere, if this is how you treat your customers.”

“Wouldn’t recommend that, mate.”  Killian shifted subtly to emphasis his hook.  “Or should I say, Baelfire.”

At that, the man blanched white.  “How the fuck do you know that name?”

“Milah told me.”  Killian moved to put himself in between the now angry man and Emma.  “Somehow I expected you to be younger.  Though I suppose that your maturity makes up for it, abandoning Swan here for your crimes.”

“You’re…fuck you!”  Neal seemed prepared to menace him.  “Wow, Em, really classy, hooking up with my mother’s sloppy seconds.”

Now Emma looked shocked.  “Wait, Milah…his Milah was your…mother?”

The next second, Neal was back on his ass, rubbing his jaw as Killian disappeared and nothing remained but the legendary Captain Hook.  “Don’t you ever, ever talk about your mother that way.  She was a good woman, who your father brutally murdered.”

“Whatever, she abandoned us when I was a kid.  I don’t care.”  He got back up, and Emma reached out, grabbing Hook’s arm before he could throw another punch.  “Look, do you want to do this deal or not?  I can easily tell Tink it’s off, and you can explain why she lost a sale.”

“Fine.”  Emma squeezed his arm, and he knew she was right.  They couldn’t afford to burn bridges. 

Neal reached into his pocket and pulled out a card.  “Bring the cargo here tonight after dark.  My client will pay you then.”

Emma took the card, careful not to touch him.  Then she turned and stormed away.  Killian shot Neal a warning look, then turned to follow her.

He caught up with her as they passed the entry to the alley complex, coming out on a busy commercial street of shops and boutiques.  Emma was walking hard, her movements telegraphing anger.  Normally, he wouldn’t have interfered, but she was being heedless of the cameras on the storefronts.  “Swan.”

“Don’t.”  It broke his heart a little to hear to the tears in her voice.  “Please.”

“The cameras, love.”  He kept his voice mild, and took her arm, using his greater height to shield her, keeping his face turned at an angle where he couldn’t also be seen.  She stiffened initially, then relaxed against him, and they walked in silence for a while back in the direction of the spaceport.  Finally, Emma spotted another bar and pulled him in.  Together, they walked up and ordered a beer, then paid and took their glasses to the small tables by the wall.

“He can’t know.”  He didn’t ask her, but she clarified anyway.  “Neal.  I don’t want him to know about Henry.  I don’t…I don’t want him in my life.”

“He won’t, then.  Not from me.”  Killian squeezed her hand before bringing his own up and rubbing it down his face.  “I swear to you, lass, I had no idea.”

“How old was Milah?”  Emma asked it, then immediately looked horrified.  “God, I’m sorry, never mind.”

“No, it’s…”  It wasn’t all right, and he knew he shouldn’t say so, just for her.  She valued his honesty, did his Swan.  “She was probably at least ten years older than me, though I didn’t really think about it at the time.  And I knew she had a son that she left, but in the pictures she had, he seemed young, and I never thought.”

“Neal had made this thing about us both being abandoned kids.”  Emma sighed, and closed her eyes.  “God, I was an idiot.”

“You were young, Swan.”  He sighed and took a deep drink of his beer.  “If you can’t make mistakes when you’re young, when can you?”

“Doesn’t stop them from haunting us, right?”  She drank her own down.  “We should get back and get the delivery ready for tonight.”

They stood and headed for the door, oblivious of the two people behind them.  The man and the woman in the booth looked at each other and smiled. 

“Looks like the home office’s intel is good.  That’s definitely the woman.”  The man typed on his communicator device.

“And the man.”  His companion, with her chocolate complexion, smiled out from under the scarf covering her hair.  “Just like they wanted.”

“Looks like that plant with the Bell woman came through.”  The man smiled, a look that would be innocent in other circumstances, but there was an air of menace.  “We’ll tail them tonight after the meet, and then we’ll have them and the boy.”

“They’ll be pleased.  Very, very pleased.”  The pair rose, leaving their own drinks untouched and dropping some credits on the table.  They disappeared out the back door.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you reading along. Your comments and kudos make my day.

Emma had been increasingly nervous ever since they had arrived on Boros, and Killian wished there was something he could do about it.  In the months she’d been on board, he found that she had fit into his life as if she had always been meant to be there, always part of the ship and the crew, and gods help him, his soul.  It was such a horrible idea, letting someone else in when everything he touched inevitably met with destruction.  But he couldn’t seem to let go, even as it became more likely he could help them settle on some decent rim world.  Right now, though, he just wanted to make her feel better.

Henry was playing ball with Anton at one end of the hold and he couldn’t help but smile at the lad’s enthusiastic laughter.  He caught Emma watching the boy, wistful sadness in her expression, and impulsively reached over, taking her hand and squeezing.  She startled at him, her smile suddenly shy and his heart stuttered over itself in his chest.  He would almost give his good hand to have her expect such comfort from him always.  The cases of absinthe sat, loaded onto the mule, and she’d almost finished the tie downs to hold them in place.

“I could take Mulan, tonight, love.”  He kept his voice soft so that its they two who can hear.  “You don’t have to see him again, if you don’t wish it.”

Emma was already shaking her head.  “I’m not backing down from him.  He doesn’t get to win.”

“As you wish.”  The words were thrown out casually, but Emma froze, eyes wide, looking at him.  He can’t imagine why, but the moment broke as the ball comes skittering toward them.

“Sorry, Mom!  Sorry, Killian!”  Henry ran over as Emma stooped, picking the ball up and handing it back, ruffling the lad’s hair in the process.  He’d grown inches in these weeks and months, so much Emma had bought him new clothes the last stop before now.  He tried not to read anything into it that the lad had favored black, like him.

He’s about to comment when suddenly Ruby’s voice called out, “KILLIAN!”  Everyone froze, looking up at the woman who had skidded to a halt on the gangway.  Her face was unnervingly pale.  “You need to come, now.”

Half up the stairs before he even thought, he imagined everything that could put that look on the lass’s face.  Emma and Henry followed behind him, Anton bring up the rear.  Skittering into the common area, Ruby pointed to the cortex screen.  On it was an image he hadn’t seen in almost seven years, a dark haired woman in an Alliance uniform, confessing secrets and lies of a government that had played god.    He knew how this video ended, and he growled, “Henry, go find Doctor Hopper.”

“But…” The boy’s voice was curious, but he couldn’t…the boy didn’t.

“NOW!”  The lad squeaked and turned, running back toward the stairs.

“Killian? What the hell?”  Emma’s voice was shocked, and he knew he had never once spoken to Henry in anything but a friendly tone, but he couldn’t right now.  Everything had tilted on its axis and he couldn’t breathe.

Ruby stood in Victor’s arms, starring in horror at the screen.  They knew.  They and Mulan and Anton.  He’d told his crew long ago, and bless them all, they had believed him to a man.  He hadn’t had the chance to tell Emma.  Looking at the sassy mechanic now, he gasped, “How?”

“I don’t know.  I had the news feed up in the engine room, and it just…it came up.  Like a pirated broadcast, and it hasn’t stopped yet.  This is probably the fifth…no, sixth time through.”  Ruby paused, and Victor tightened his hold, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.  “Is it?”

“Aye.”  Just then, the woman raised the gun and fired, and his knees gave out.  Arms wrapped around him, breaking his fall as he collapsed to deck.  “Anton, go keep Henry away from all the coms.”

The big man was gone as the tears came, and he curled in on himself.  The arms stayed and suddenly, he was being rocked like a child, soft words against his hair.  Her voice paused, and then she said softly, “Turn it off, Ruby.”

The sound died, and footsteps moved away, but she stayed, holding him.  Cinnamon and cocoa and something else distinctly Emma filled his nose as her hair fell against his face. She just hummed softly, and finally, finally he could breathe, the shaking stopped.  As if she felt it, she disengaged and moved back from him.  “We have to go, if we’re still going.”

He nodded, pushing himself to stand.  There would be time enough, and maybe rum enough later, to tell her the whole sorry tale.  Now, though, there was business to be done.  “Aye, lass.  But go get an extra gun.  There’s like to be chaos abroad tonight.”

Shaking it off, he hardened his heart and tried not to think of the terror on Liam and his men’s faces as the Reavers had come through the door on that god forsaken world.  Mostly, he failed, but he knew he’d need to be on game now, or he’d risk Emma.  Good form, Liam would have told him.  Protect your crew, complete the mission, and deal with the fall out after.  Only Liam hadn’t had to deal with it, had he?  In that Killian was truly alone.

******

He didn’t look like much.  Elfin features and sandy brown hair made him seem far younger than his years, and he used that to his advantage.  After all, people trusted children and young people, gave them faith and let them close.  It made it so much easier to do what he did best.  His given name was Malcolm, but he’d been going to Peter for years now, so long it felt like it might as well be his real name. 

“Sir, Tamara and Mendell called in from Boros.  They’ve spotted the woman and the ship’s captain.”  His second in command, Felix, had sidled up to him as he watched his men sparring.  All of them as young looking as he was, all just as deadly.  “Do they move in?”

Peter turned, raising one brow.  “On Boros?  Interesting.  Rumor has it our old friend Bae is on Boros.”

Felix nodded.  “It seems they were meeting him.  It’s possible they’re running product for the Green Fairy.”

Peter contemplated that.  Not many people got out from under his thumb once he had them, but those two had, leaving him somewhat in a lurch on a job.  Tink he could sort of forgive, since she had been little more than an independent contractor.  Loyalty wasn’t necessarily strong among her kind.  But Bae had been one of them, near to the inner circle.  Hell, he had been second only to Felix among his lieutenants.  Bae’s betrayal had…not hurt, per se.  Aggravated.

“I wonder if perhaps we should try to acquire all of them.”  Peter grinned at the thought.  A job done and dusted and a reckoning, all in one nice package.  Yes, he quite liked that idea.  After all, Peter Pan never failed.

******

The streets of Boros were in a state as they pushed through with the mule, and it was honestly only because they had as much horsepower under them as they did that kept things from going pear shaped.  Emma kept her hand on her weapon and her eyes on the crowd as Killian drove them, doing his best to not run over protestors.

Word of Miranda, of the experiments on the populating had spread like wildfire and angry crowds moved through the streets, targeting anyone in an Alliance uniform.  Reavers had been, for worlds like Boros, largely a legend, the bogeymen of Rim space.  Now, they had gone into homes and businesses the universe wide.

Emma wondered, was this what Henry had meant when he said he found proof his adopted mother, this Regina woman, had done something horrible to a planet?  She had mostly avoided looking for more information on her, beyond what Archie had told her, scared Cortex searches might be monitored.  If so, and the word was out, did that mean she’d be arrested?  Or would the Alliance sweep it under the rug?  If they were suddenly safe, then…what? 

She supposed they could leave the _Jolly_ , find somewhere to settle and a job to do.  Live a quiet life.  The thought left her feeling hollow, though.  Like something would be missing.  She hadn’t expected to find…whatever this was she had found, on a clunky old starship with a misfit crew and their madcap pirate captain.

She glanced a look at Killian out of the corner of her eye as he pulled into the alley behind the bar they were dropping the cargo to.  She couldn’t say what she felt for the man.  Friendship.  She trusted him enough to believe he wouldn’t sell them out.  And something…no.  She couldn’t go there, not while things were still so…and now. 

Emma closed her eyes for a second, then opened them, hoping down and moving to stand by the cargo as Killian used his hook to bang on the door.  It opened on…Neal, and she felt anger and hurt twist in her gut again.  God, she’d been a fool back then.

“We’ve the cargo, Bae…”

“Neal.  My name is Neal.”  Cassidy’s voice was hard.

“Neal, then.  Where’s your client?”  Killian’s voice was hard, and again, she knew Hook was negotiating here, not the man she’d come to know.  Oddly, that made her feel better.

Neal glanced back in the door and waved.  A woman with warm, chocolate colored skin and straight hair stepped out, followed by a pale man with short tawny hair.  The woman smiled at them, but something felt off.  Emma couldn’t put her finger on it, but the smile seemed a little…feral, like a wild cat considering its prey.  It didn’t help that the man with her seemed shifty and nervous.

“These them, babe?”  The woman leaned over, kissing Neal’s cheek and just…god, let this be done soon.

“Yeah.  Hook and Swan.”  Neal grinned warily.  “This is Tamara, the owner of the club, and her assistant, Greg.  Cargo’s here.”

The man stepped forward and toward Emma, who grabbed a small pry bar and popped a box open.  He grabbed a bottle and turned, handing it to the woman who was clearly the boss.  She held it up in the light coming through the door, and seeming satisfied that it was the sort of green that might or might not render a man blind upon consumption, she handed a bag of credits to Killian, who tucked them into his jacket.

Emma stepped back, letting Greg and Neal off load the crates.  Her hand remained on her piece, just in case.  When they were all stowed inside the door, Killian nodded.  “Pleasure.”  He turned to walk toward them when the sound of a pistol cocking stopped him cold.

“Not so fast, Captain.”  Emma watched Hook’s eyes roll sarcastically, and had the oddest urge to laugh.  Again, people had to learn.  They do the job, they get paid. 

Tamara had the gun pointed at him when he turned, and Emma realized he positioned himself so the woman couldn’t shoot Emma.  Dammit.  What surprised her more though was the shock on Neal’s face.

“Babe, what are you doing?”  Neal looked from her to Hook and back.  “These people are doing business with me, on behalf of my contacts.  You can’t just burn them like this.”

“Of course I can, _babe_.”  Gone was the business like, but mildly flirty tone from earlier.  This was someone else entirely.  “This was never about the absinthe.  Or the bar.  I hate the bar.”

“But…you told me you loved this life, with me.”  Neal seemed genuinely lost.  “We’re getting married.”  Emma felt a twinge at that, but put it aside, focusing on getting her gun pulled while no one was looking at her.

“You’re an idiot, Cassidy.”  Greg was chiming in now.  “She’s never been with you, not really.  Isn’t that right, honey?”

“You know it.”  Tamara shot a warm smile at her partner, and now Neal just looked gut shot.  He moved, putting himself in between her and Killian.  “Don’t be a fool, Neal.  Home Office wants all three of you, alive, and the boy.”

“Boy? What boy?”  Neal starred at her, and now Emma could sense his anger.  “I don’t know anything about a boy.”

“Her boy.”  Greg smiled, evilly, and Emma felt her blood turn cold.  “And given your history, I suppose, your boy.”

Neal turned looking at her.  Emma glanced at Killian, could see the wheels turning in his mind.  Now, she nodded.  “It’s true.”

Neal blinked, rapidly.  And in that moment, Emma realized he was going to do something stupid.  “Neal, don’t….”

Neal turned and sprang at Tamara, and the gun went off.  The man staggered back, gripping his side.  “You shot me!”

“Pan wants you alive, Baelfire.  But I honestly don’t care.”  Tamara pointed the gun at him again, and she knew she didn’t have a choice.  Raising her own gun, she fired, clipping Greg in the shoulder.  He went down howling, and Tamara turned, distracted.  Hook moved like lightning, kicking out and knocking the gun from her hand. 

“Swan, on the mule!”  Killian moved, hurrying toward the driver’s seat.  She looked up to see Tamara hunting for her weapon and Greg moaning, while Neal staggered in their direction.  He was burned, any way you slice it, unless.

“We have to take him.”  She nodded at Neal from where she sat, key turned in the ignition and engine roaring to life.  Her other hand kept her gun on their opponents.

“Are you mad?”  Killian yelled.

“It’s the right thing to do!”  She yelled back.  He hesitated, and she hated herself for what she did next.  “Milah would want him to live.”

Killian’s face went dark, and he growled, but he grabbed Neal and hoisted him into the back seat, then jumped into the one next to her, pulling his own gun out.  “Bloody drive, Swan!”

Throwing the mule into gear, she reversed hard into the street, narrowly missing another band of protestors, then jammed it into drive.  With a whine, the mule took off, leaving any chance of pursuit in the dust.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again so much for comments. I am reading to them, I just haven't had a lot of time to respond.

The mule sped up the open bay door, screeching to a halt.  Killian jumped out, hitting the door mechanism to pull the bay door shut, and slamming his hand into the intraship com.  “Victor, is everyone on board?”

Victor’s voice crackled back over the speaker.  “Yeah, boss.”

“Then lock us up tight and get us in the bloody air.”  He turned to Emma.  “Get him to the infirmary.  Yell if you can’t find Hopper.”

Emma nodded, moving and helping haul Neal out of the back.  The wound looked painful but not serious, and she steadied him as they went.  Killian waited until they disappeared, then hurried up the stairs and toward the commons.  Ruby and Henry were sitting at the table, working on some part to something, with her instructing him on using the small hand tool he held.  She glanced up at Killian and read his face. 

Nodding, he mouthed “Keep him here.”  Then he hurried to the bridge.  Victor was flipping switches quickly.

“You know, taking off like a bat out of hell makes us look guilty of something, boss.”  The man didn’t look up as he continued his pre-launch check.

“If they hail us, say we had concerns about being planet side with the protests and decided to cut our stay short.”  Killian sat heavily in the co-pilots chair. 

“So I take it this didn’t go smooth?”  The man could be the master of understatement, curse him to the nine hells.

“Oh, just bloody perfect.”  Killian brought a hand up, rubbing it over his face.  “Tink’s contacts turned out to be bounty hunters, looking for Emma and the lad.  Oh, and the boy’s father, who is in my bloody sick bay having himself stitched up.”

“Henry said his father was dead.”  Victor paused a brief second to look at him.  “Is he some kind of revenant?  Because Reavers are plenty, we don’t need zombies in the ‘verse too.”

“Emma had told the lad his father was dead because…well, she had her reasons.”

“My dad’s alive?”  The voice from behind him was shocked and small and bloody hell, this fecking day.

“Henry.”  He turned, the boy’s eyes wide.  “You should wait for you mum…”

The boy turned and went running.  Ruby stood aside, horror and guilt on her face as he ran after the lad.  Henry was down the stairs and around the corner, skidding to a stop by the closed infirmary doors.  Inside, he could see Emma and Archie, leaning over Neal and working on his wound.

“That’s my dad?”  Henry’s voice was quiet and pained, and Killian hadn’t hated himself quite so much in a quite a long time.

“Your mum, Henry…” he started, but the boy shook his head.

“She lied to me!”  He turned and looked at Killian, his brown eyes swimming with tears.  “Just like my other mother.  Emma was supposed to be different.”

Killian sighed, and put his hand on the lad’s shoulder, leading him over to the couch across from the door.  “Henry, your mother…Emma, she loves you very, very much.  And sometimes, when we love someone, we’ll do anything to protect them.  Just like she gave you up initially to give you your best chance.”

The boy nodded, looking down at his hands.  Killian continued.  “Her reasons for telling you what she did were her trying to protect you.  She couldn’t…she didn’t know where…well, I think she’ll tell you now.  But do me a favor, as one of my crew?”

Henry looked up at that, his eyes big.  “I’m on your crew?”

“Of course you are, lad!”  He reached over and ruffled the boy’s hair.  “Just, when she comes to talk to you, hear her out, okay?”

The boy seemed to think hard, then nodded.  “For you, Captain.”

“Thank you, lad.”

An hour later, when Emma came out, she found Killian’s head tilted back against the bulkhead, fast asleep.  Henry was curled up against him, his head on his leg, and the tough space pirate’s hand protectively resting on the boy’s shoulder.

*****

“What do you mean you lost them?” Pan’s voice was angry.  It didn’t bode well for the operatives on the other end of the line, Felix new that much.

“We didn’t expect Neal to take their side.”  Tamara’s voice was firm, but there was an undertone of fear in it that made his boss’s grin turn quite feral.  “He interfered.”

“Is he dead?” Now Peter’s voice was almost friendly, and from where he sat in the corner, sharpening the combat knife in his hand, he bit back a chuckle.  Most people thought that was better, but Felix had been the man’s right hand for a long, long time.  It wasn’t.

“Well, we shot him, before that bitch shot Greg.”  Tamara sounded almost pleased with the first part of that piece of her report, if the second clearly angered her.  “The Swan woman pulled him bleeding into their vehicle and took him with them.  So I don’t know.”

“So, you completely misunderstood me when I said I wanted them all.  Alive?”  Felix did snort softly at that.

“It’s just…we didn’t…” Tamara couldn’t seem to find the words for her upset.  More pity for her, he thought.  Pan might’ve forgiven her if she had.

“No.  Stay there.  I’ll send further instructions.”  With that, the man cut the call off.  Looking up at where Felix sat, sprawled out, he shook his head.  “I give them everything they ask for and all they do is take take take.”

“You are a benevolent overlord.”  If it was any other of his men, Pan would have flayed them.  As it was, he simply gave Felix that feral grin he was so good at. 

“Take Tootles and the Twins to Boros.  Terminate their employment.”  Peter waved his hand, dismissively, and Felix grinned.  He did so love to play the hatchet man.

*****

Emma knew it was a matter of time from the moment they’d pulled into the bay, Neal bleeding in the back of the mule. So she didn’t blame Killian when he told her about Henry overhearing him, particularly given the obvious self-loathing in his eyes.  It wasn’t his fault that she had apparently pissed off whatever higher power there was in a previous life and was stuck in a permanent karmic shit storm.  This was why she couldn’t have nice things in her life.

Henry was oddly silent as she led him up to her shuttle, avoiding her eyes and playing with the hem of his sweater.  He perched beside her on her little couch and said not a word as she tried to figure out where to start.

“I never had a family, growing up.  Not for long, Henry.  I was adopted by one couple, but then they got pregnant, so they sent me back.”  She paused, seeing him glance sideways at her.  “After that, no home stuck.  I ended up taking off when I was seventeen.  I met your dad about a year later.”

“Where?” Henry’s voice was curious, but a little hard, and it made her heart ache.

“Ariel.”  She closed her eyes for a minute, remembering warm brown eyes and a laughing smile.  “We were young, and dumb, and we did stuff I’m not proud of, Henry.  And then we…we weren’t together anymore, and I found out I was going to have you, and I didn’t have any idea how to find him.  I’m sorry, that I lied to you, but I didn’t want you to think badly of us.  I wanted you to be proud.”

Her son was quiet for a long time, starring at his feet, and she worried she’d lost him.  Then he sighed softly.  “My mom…I mean, Regina…she lies all the time.  To everyone.  And I hate that.”  He looked at Emma.  “I get why you did it, but it hurts that you didn’t think I could handle the truth.”

“I know, and I am truly sorry.”  She reached for his hand and felt her heart stutter when he let her take it.  “I promise, no more lying.  I love you, kid.”

“I love you too, Mom.”  He squeezed her hand back.  “So, does he know about me?  Dad?”

“Yeah, he does.”  She hated that he did.  Hated what he had done to her, hated that she didn’t have the last ten years with her kid because of it.  “He’s resting right now.  How about we go have a cocoa and then you can meet him, okay?”

Henry nodded, hopping up and running for the door of the shuttle.

An hour later, she stood outside the infirmary, watching through the window as Henry and Neal talked.  Archie had made some excuse about needing to do inventory before their next stop, and was discreetly in the corner, monitoring them.  She was thankful for the man again, and his willingness to protect Henry.

“You all right, love?” Killian’s voice was soft and low next to her ear.  She could feel the tension in her whole body, and she knew she needed to get away.  Neal certainly couldn’t run off with the boy, and even if he did, Archie had become surprisingly proficient with a pistol in the last few months.

“Can we…do you have rum?”  Her voice sounded weak, and he barked a laugh at her question.

“Aye, Swan.  I have rum.  Care to join me for a drink before bed?”  He smiled at her, all roguish innuendo. 

Emma stepped over and opened the door. “Kid?  The Captain and I have things we need to discuss.  Thirty more minutes and then bed, okay?  Ne…your dad will be here in the morning.”

“Okay, Mom!”  Henry immediately turned back, and she ignored the look of gratitude on her ex’s face.

“Lead on.”  Killian smiled at her and took her hand, and as much as she wanted to shake it off, her emotions messy and conflicted, there was comfort in the warmth of his grasp.  They made their way silently upstairs, and then through the silent galley toward the crew quarters.  Like that first night, he let her go down the ladder first, following when she was clear.

Emma dropped into the chair at the table, her body suddenly exhausted.  Even as safe as things had been since they’d washed up on this strange store, it felt like she had been running as hard as she could to keep them safe, to keep some distance, to be one step ahead.  She felt a thousand years old, wasted and ready to blow away.

The sound of the other chair surprised her, and she opened her eyes to find Killian sitting near her, two glasses and a very different bottle of rum on the table in front of him.  “You’ve got blood on your hands, love.”

“What?”  Emma looked shocked.  Yes, she’d shot Greg Mendel, but he was just as complicit as she was.

Killian gestured with his hook to her fingers, splayed on the table.  Dappled rust brown spots almost looked like freckles, except where one large smear wrapped her right thumb, flakey and obvious for what it was.  She cringed. 

“Wash up, Swan.  I’ll pour.”  He nodded to the small head by the stairs, and Emma moved, using the foot pedal to splash water over her hands and soaping off Neal’s blood.  Pink swirls ran down the drain, and she waited until they were gone before splashing some water on her face.

When she came back out, she was surprised to find Killian waiting on her to start drinking.  In his hand was the frame with the picture of him and the older man, and the sadness in his eyes was palpable.  She wondered if she should make an excuse and go, leave him alone with his ghosts.  Then he looked up and gave her a soft sad smile, and she wanted…she just wanted.

“Liam raised me, after our father died.”  He poured rum into her glass as she sat, then his own.  “Our mother…she might as well have died of grief when it happened, so Liam made sure I went to school, learned good form, and stayed out of trouble.  We were incredibly close.”

“He sounds like a good man.”  Emma accepted the glass, sipping.  It was a much finer rum than they had drank the other night.  “You went into the service together?”

“Liam first, then me.  We had been raised loyal to the Alliance, and at the time, we had no reason to question it.  We excelled in the Academy, received choice berths when we commissioned.”  Killian sighed, looking at the holo-image again.  “Even when the war started, we thought….”

She stayed silent, letting him tell the tale the way he needed.  But she did reach out, resting her hand on his brace.  He started a little, looking at her with surprise and a little bit of awe, and her heart hurt a little bit again for him.

“Anyway, we were happy.  We’d been assigned to the same ship.  Liam was Captain, and I was his Lieutenant.  And then we got assigned to go do a reconnaissance and welfare check on a planet I had never heard of, to follow up with a science team.”  He stopped, drinking deep of his glass before pouring more.

“Miranda.”  Ruby had mumbled the name earlier, and now she saw him flinch.  “They sent you to the planet we saw on the feed.”

“Aye.”  His voice was hoarse, strangled, and he shut his eyes.  “Liam took a small crew in a shuttle to the surface to check.  He found…them.  That video.  Copied it to us before…”

He stopped, and it wasn’t hard to guess the rest.  “Reavers killed him.”

“Aye, and fifteen good men and women, just there to do their jobs.”  He slammed the rum back again.  “Gods, lass, I wanted to help people when I joined.  I had no idea the Alliance would…that it could….  Anyway, we got the hell out, just missed a Reaver scout ship.  Then our own fired on us.  An EMP that took out so much.  We lost the copy of the video, had no proof.”

“I’m sorry, Killian.”  There was nothing else she could offer.  No way to give back what he’d lost.

“To a man, we turned rebels.  Flew to the nearest Browncoat base and surrendered.  And died, one by one.”  He shook his head.  “I don’t know why I lived, but here I am.  And I had sworn I’d find a way to get the truth out.  But someone beat me to it.  But I also swore when the Verse knew, I’d drink this obscenely expensive rum.  Bought it after our first big job.  So bottom’s up.”

They were quiet now.  Emma thought about the totality of the day, of everything they had learned.  The Universe was irretrievably different.  “Do you think this was Regina’s secret?  That she just hasn’t called off her dogs?”

“No clue, love.”  He took a slower sip now, before reaching out to offer her a refill.  “I have no clue what the Alliance is going to do now that this is out.  It’s likely best for us to go lay low somewhere.  I’ve an old friend, on Sherwood.  He’d put us up quiet like for a few weeks.  Neal too, if you want him.”

“I’d rather space him, but that’s no option.”  Emma sighed.  “I can’t take him from Henry.  Not yet.”

“Then he stays.”  It seemed simple as that to him, and she marveled again at this man who hadn’t once let her down since they’d met.  But there was one more revelation she needed to understand.  “Killian…Milah.  How?”

He chuckled, ruefully.  “She approached me with tales of being a companion, wanted to try a traveling business model.  I was taken with her from the start.  And she never really did her job, but she’d join us.  She was a hell of a con.  And I loved her, so it didn’t matter.”

“What happened to her?”  Emma sipped and watched as he looked away toward his bed.

“You ever hear of Mr. Gold, love?”  His glacial voice made her cold, and she shivered.  Who hadn’t in the circles they ran in?

“Yes.”  She waited until he turned, and then poured him more rum.  “Never crossed him, but I know who he is.”

“Turns out, she was his wife.  She couldn’t take being his…so she left, walked away from him and her son.”  He sighed.  “Your Neal, as it turns out.  And he never forgave or forgot.  So when we stopped on his station for a cargo drop, and he saw her…he shot her dead.  And threatened to execute my whole crew if he ever saw us again.”

“I’m sorry.”  She smiled at him sadly.  “You must hate him.”

“I want to kill him.”  He smiled sadly back.  “But he’s a bit…well protected.  And…”

Suddenly, all the air seemed to disappear from the room, and they were close, much closer than she had realized.  When had that happened?

“Killian?”  Breathless, her voice echoed in the space.

“I never thought I’d…well, I never thought I’d be able to let go of Milah and move on.”  He reached up, scratching his ear and licking his lips.  “Until I met you, Emma.”

God, she couldn’t breathe.  And then the rum and the day and everything came together and she reached out, grabbing the lapels of his duster and yanking him to her.  His mouth met hers open, hot and needy and fierce and she let herself drowned in it.  The booze and salt and a slight tang like blood, and him…it could only be him she was tasting.  His hand shifted in her hair, making her whimper into his mouth as his tongue moved to dance with hers, plunder hers.  It was so good, too good, and she just wanted to let go and forget her crappy childhood and her ridiculous old jobs, the blood on their hands and everything and be with him.  Forget everything but…

She pulled back.  “Henry.”  It was a breath and a splash of cold water.  She pulled back, letting go.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

“I think you should, love.”  Killian reached for her hand, stopping her.  “It’s right, Emma.  It’s all right to feel like this.”

“Do I though?  Or is it this two people who had a hell of a day?”  She looked at his hand in hers.  “I can’t, Killian.  Not right now, with Henry and Neal on board and Regina sending people after us.  I can’t take a chance I’m wrong about you.  Not about this.  Because Henry adores you and if I screw this up…”

“You won’t.  Emma, you won’t.”  Killian looked at her, longing and hope in his face.

“I always do though.  I fuck up everything I touch.”  Shaky laughter filled the space.  “I’ll ruin this too.”

He didn’t let go of her hand, just sat looking at her for a long moment.  And then she saw something shift.  This was it then.  He decided she was too much, this was all too much.  She had no framework for what he said next.

“Okay.”  He raised her hand up, stopping just short of his lips.  “But Emma, know this.  I’m a gentlemen, and I believe in good form.  So when I win your heart—and I will win it.  It won’t be by trickery.  It will be because you want me.”  Then he pressed his lips softly to her hand before letting go.

She looked at him for a long time.  “Thank you.  I’m going to go check on Henry before I get some sleep.”

“Goodnight then, Swan.”

“Goodnight, Killian.”  Standing, she turned and fled up the ladder.


End file.
